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Health See other Health Articles Title: 4 Prescription Drug Myths Debunked When it comes to prescription druUS News By Lacie Glover 18gs, there's a lot of information out there. There's also a lot of misinformation -- and some of it could be costing you. According to the Generic Pharmaceutical Association, Americans spent over $325 billion on prescription medications in 2012, a number that is expected to rise in coming years. Billions of dollars could be saved on prescriptions (and better spent elsewhere), but not everyone understands why. Here are some of the most common and costly myths surrounding prescription drugs, along with the truth behind them. "My doctor prescribed it, so I must need it." Your doctor has years of training and medical expertise and can be a trusted source of information, but doctors aren't perfect. Their values vary widely, and some may prescribe drugs when they aren't needed -- or worse, not check to see if they interact negatively with your current drugs. Recent research suggests that medicine is often prescribed in the U.S. when other interventions may be more appropriate. These could be relatively simple interventions, like making changes in diet and exercise. There are a few simple steps you can take to avoid being overprescribed or misprescribed a medication. First, make sure you keep a list of your current medications and any side effects you experience, so you can inform your doctor. Second, let your doctor know at the beginning of the appointment that you'd like to have as few prescriptions as possible while still maintaining your health and that you're open to lifestyle adjustments. Lastly, make sure you understand the need for any new medication. You should never passively agree to a treatment regimen before understanding why you're using it. "Brand-name drugs are more expensive because they're better." It's easy to understand why this myth exists, since generic drugs aren't as heavily advertised as brand-name drugs. In truth, brand-name drugs cost much more (about 80 to 85 percent, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration) because the pharmaceutical companies selling them spent billions of dollars and many years conducting research to prove the drugs are safe and will work as intended. As a sort of compensation for that investment, the FDA grants a company exclusivity to sell the drug for a period after it is approved. At the end of the exclusivity period, which varies depending on the type of drug, other companies can manufacture and sell the drug. Since they just have to find the formulation of the active ingredient, generics companies are able to sell the drug at a fraction of the cost. Because brand names are already widely recognizable thanks to years of advertising and exclusivity, the original manufacturer can keep charging higher prices even after research costs have been recouped. Often, the original company will manufacture both the brand-name version and generic version of the drug in the same factory and sell both. "The FDA allows a 45 percent difference in effectiveness between generic and brand-name medication." Along with the previous myth, this one stops a lot of people from inquiring about generics. The truth is that the FDA requires the same potency, efficacy, safety and quality for all drugs with the same active ingredient, whether they are brand-name or generic drugs. In fact, when it comes to generics and their brand-name counterparts, the only differences the FDA allows are with inactive ingredients, such as preservatives and binding agents, and those that affect appearance. Those inactive ingredients may cause side effects in some people, but this is equally likely for the inactive ingredients in brand-name drugs. People most likely to experience these side effects are those with known allergies to foods or other drugs. For most individuals, however, generic drugs will work just as well as brand-name drugs, and switching can save a lot of money. In 2012 alone, generics saved American consumers about $217 billion. "Newer drugs are better than drugs that have been on the market for years." This myth isn't entirely false. Advances in science and technology have paved the way for a variety of drugs on the market. For instance, safe and effective daily oral pills are now available for diseases like multiple sclerosis, for which only injectables were available until recently. While this is great for MS sufferers, the success isn't necessarily transferable to other diseases. For those suffering with a frustrating or painful illness, the allure of a new drug can be enticing, even if the disease is currently well managed. Yes, it takes a long time and a lot of research to make sure a drug is safe and effective before the FDA approves it, but data collection doesn't stop there. Even after a drug is approved, adverse reactions and serious adverse events are sometimes reported through the FDA's MedWatch system, and manufacturers update the product's labeling accordingly. Sometimes, the FDA requires additional package warnings or even reverses drug approval if new data are strong enough. The truth is that the longer a drug is on the market, the more data are available to back its safety. Lacie Glover writes for NerdWallet Health. She has a background in chemical and clinical research and aims to empower consumers to find high quality, affordable health care. Poster Comment: [George] I used to work in a pharmacy... If the release mechanism is different between the generic and brand name, the generic cannot be used if the doctor wrote the brand name. There are certain medications with multiple extended-release mechanisms that should not be substituted. I remember one medication having two extended-release versions - for example, "Wellbutrin SR" and Wellbutrin XL". Wellbutrin SR has a generic, Wellbutrin XL didn't (at the time). Some doctors would use the scientific name of the medication, pointing to perhaps a preference for the version WITH a generic, but use the designation for the mechanism that was used in the brand name. So they'd write "bupropion XL" - so which one did the doctor want? Well, the SR is twice-daily and the XL is once-daily, so you could assume based on the dosage, right? Well, no. Because some doctors will prescribe the twice-daily to be taken once daily, and vice-versa. This is one of those cases where intuition can get you into BIG trouble as a pharmacist, and I remember there being a note to always check bupropion formulations with doctors if the generic was used or if the dosing for the brand name was atypical... I wonder why... [customer] I have been a retail pharmacist for almost 17 years. Years ago I noticed that for certain patients and for certain drugs, brand name DOES work better than generic. Either the brand is more effective or it has fewer side effects. For the same patient with different drugs, there is no apparent difference. I have heard from patients presenting objective evidence for this, which argues against the placebo effect. For example, one companies albuterol allowing a patient to breathe much easier after use than another companies albuterol. Or a brand name sleeping pill not causing drowsiness the next day but a generic causing significant drowsiness. But the same patient will see no difference between brand and generic for a different drug. The examples are many. Lately, generic manufacturing plants, which often are different than the brand name manufacturing plants, have increasingly been caught using poor manufacturing standards by the FDA. This may be part of the explanation for what I have been observing in the pharmacy _talking with patients for years+14-1. J... What the article doesn't mention is that the FDA requires that any drug sold as a generic to a branded medication must also have virtually identical pharmacokinetics as the brand. That is to say, the tablet or capsule must dissolve in the gut, be absorbed into the blood, get metabolized by the liver, and be excreted in the urine or feces at the same rate and quantity as the branded product. How is this requirement tested? The manufacturer gets a bunch of willing, healthy volunteers and gives half of them the generic, and the other half the brand. Then, at frequent intervals, e.g. 30 minutes, draws their blood and measures how much drug they can detect, until they can't detect any more. They also measure how long it takes for the both the brand and generic to have an effect, and how long it takes for the products to wear off. Unless the generic product is identical to the brand, it cannot be marketed or dispensed as a substitute for the branded item. But then, medications aren't normally given to otherwise healthy individuals, nor does most of the population fit the description of the "average" human guinea pig (25 yo, white, male). +1-2 madgreedy Generics are fine BUT, I wouldn't run out to get the first batch of generics. Usually there are several "kinks" when that company brings that product to market. I stay with my branded pill for a year or sure to make sure the generic company got it right brenda ...My doctor wanted me to take a name brand medicine, but I resisted. Six months of feeling #$%$ later, I agreed to try the name brand. My symptoms leveled out, and I felt much better. The name brand cost $73 per month versus $4 for the generic, but once I signed up for mail-order, the cost came down to $70 for a three month supply. It's definitely worth the cost to have good quality of life. +1 buy American When drugs become generic Medicare drug plans will drop them or will require a premium of $120 per month to purchase the brand for $65 or higher per month. Kelley Most Doctors don't know the latest info on new medications - it is our job (pharma reps) to inform your physician of the new medications available- side effects, drug interactions, coverage from your insurance company , efficacy etc.. also, most generics are not bioequivalent - they may be in the same class of drug but the have different side effects, different efficacy and compliance is usually very low due to tolerablitly. Drug reps and drug companies are beneficial- we help the physician and the staff get the medications to the patients and we provide free samples which are very costly. Meds are cheaper in third world countries because they are NOT the same. Post Comment Private Reply Ignore Thread
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