Generics Prescription
January 21st, 2008 at 10:42 pm (General, National Politics, Health)
Tess Termulo, a doctor, explains in her blog why some doctors are against the Cheaper Medicines Bill provision that requires doctors to prescribe only generic names of drugs. While I am all for the enactment of the Cheaper Medicines Bill, I also agree with Dr. Termulo’s points.
She asserts that:
the provision to restrict the use of brand names and to only allow prescription with generic names ONLY is unfair. Though generic drugs and branded drugs do have the same active ingredients, these drugs do differ in the salt carriers used in manufacturing it. This difference in salt carriers used in manufacturing can be cause of side effects or allergic reactions that can vary from one patient to another.
Being allergic to a lot of things (including certain medicines), I fully understand her concern over the provision. Various medicines, while containing same active ingredients have different formulations and/or contain varying ingredients which may be harmful, or not helpful for certain patients. Thus, the provision requiring only generics to be prescribed, may prove to be harmful, or even fatal, for some patients.
She further argues that…
two drugs, one branded and another generic, may be labeled as bioequivalent by a food and drug regulating body, but it may not necessarily mean that it is therapeutically bioequivalent.
Unarguably, we are not so fond of standards and measurements in this country. While most developed countries have product quality standards that detail everything, we lack those kinds of standards that strictly monitor and ensure that quality of products sold in the country.
Senator Manuel “Mar” Roxas II has assured that the Senate version of the bill does not contain the provision in question.
Hopefully, this bill, if and when it is enacted, will be enacted only for the sake of the Filipino people, and nobody else’s.
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Bone MD said,
January 21, 2008 at 11:24 pm
The question therefore is all about the Generic Drugs in the market today. Whether the were efficacious and therapeutically safe comparable to the “Branded” drugs for a certain illness, that is for the BFAD (being the licensing agency) the doctors, and the pharmaceutical company’s responsibility to adequately inform the patient and the general public
Strengthen BFAD, properly implement the GEneric’s LAw, put stringent criteria for “Generic” drugs to be approved for market use, filed testing of drugs pre and post marketing, parallel importation of new drugs-these are few of the laws we need to lower the cost of medicines.
Prudence said,
January 22, 2008 at 4:52 am
Thanks, Ria, for mentioning my post here.
I agree with Bone, M.D. It’s unfortunate that doctors have been “demonized” again. It is as if all doctors were only after the money that pharmaceutical companies can give. Not all doctors are slaves to pharmaceutical companies. It is rather insulting that most people would regard doctors that way. And many have conveniently disregarded that pharmacies, too, have an active role in the marketing of pharmaceutical products. As I’ve said, patients do always have a choice in what drugs they buy. That is the purpose why there is a generic name and a brand name in a prescription. Patients can also ask doctors which other brands they could buy. And as a doctor, I make sure that they’re aware that there are other brands, but sometimes I prefer a certain brand due to my experience with it, either with myself or with my other patients. Haven’t people realize that the actual buying takes place in a drugstore and not in the doctor’s clinic? If there are issues about unfair marketing, certainly, these issues most possibly can exist in a drugstore too. It isn’t uncommon that people, who don’t want to consult with a doctor, will come up to a drugstore and ask the pharmacist which medication to buy. The pharmacist in that situation is in the position to offer his/her preferred branded drugs. Sometimes, some scrupulous pharmacists do insist on substituting certain brands with another, even if the patient thinks the other brand is good for him. Why isn’t anybody else pointing this out? I believe doctors are being treated unfairly in this issue. Haven’t people thought that doctors always have the patients’ best interests in mind? Medicine isn’t like any other occupation. It is an occupation that concerns people and their health. If doctor loses sight of his patients’ interests, then his occupation is gone. So why insist that doctors are only concerned about what they can get from pharmaceutical companies?
This isn’t a simple situation, as most of our politicians would like us to see. I’m quite wary about how this issue is being wielded to cast the most favorable light on some political figures. I hope people are also considering that in this issue.
Dr. PP said,
January 25, 2008 at 7:39 pm
Indeed, the concern of fellow doctors regarding the therapeutic effectivity of generic drugs is very valid. This can be addressed by strengthening BFAD and promoting the integrity of pharmaceutical companies so that instead of engaging in brand-wars, the battle will be with respect to which company complies with GMP standards (current good manufacturing practice) or surpasses it. What the bill forbids is brand name prescribing. It does not prohibit doctors from listing trusted manufacturers in the prescription pad alongside the generic name.
Finally, I hope we should stop dividing the issue regarding generic-only prescribing. Let’s cross the line and reach out to find a solution that is acceptable to all concerned. Even if we succeed in getting this provision abandoned, the nagging question still remains: will affordable and quality medicines be finally accessible to the poor majority?
After all, don’t you think that more people die because they can’t afford the prescribed medicine rather than because the medicine they took was generic?
esquila,meriam L. said,
July 18, 2008 at 8:51 pm
can someone kindly give me a classification of prescription according to BFAD!! thanks.. in advance