A Nurse's Opinion on Generic vs. Brand Name(or the Way to save a lot of Money!!)
Nov 30 '00
How many times have we heard about the rising cost of health care? Do you know what is one of the biggest reasons for the high costs? Medication. People need their medication to get by, and sometimes, to survive. Drug companies know this, and they capitalize on it.
How patents work
I'm not an expert on patent law, just a nurse and someone who has taken a lot of medications. When a drug is first approved by the FDA, the drug company who makes it is giving exclusive rights to make the drug for a period of time, which I think it 10 years. (Someone please correct me if I'm wrong.) During this time, the drug company can charge whatever they want. They'll tell you that the charge is because of the high cost of research, but I have to wonder about all the free lunches, pens, paper, toys and other stuff they shower on medical type people.. (Of course that's my humble little opinion, maybe another epinion some other time..)
After that time, the medication is considered 'off patent' and any company is free to come up with their version of the medication. This is when competition comes in to play and prices go down.
But is it the same?
Not always. Some medications have slight differences in their bioavailability, the amount of medication that is available to the body from each tablet. This is significant with blood thinners and other drugs where levels are really really important. This does not apply to acetominophen.
Over the counter generics?
The next time you are in a drug store looking for an over the counter medication, look at the labels. Compare Motrin to Advil to Ibuprofen. Compare Benadryl to Diphenhydramimine. Compare Tylenol to Acetominophen. What will you see? They are exactly the same!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
If you want to spend more money for brand name stuff, that is your choice. But drug companies are such rich entities that they count on people doing that. Do you really want to add to the pockets of the drug companies? You are not getting an inferior product by buying the generic acetominophen instead of tylenol. You are saving yourself a lot of money.
Marketing several drugs under the same name
Another new trend is to make new formulations to treat different conditions under the same name. I don't know what is in all the formulations of all the versions of Tylenol, Advil and Motrin, but I'm talking about stuff like Advil cold and sinus and Tylenol PM.
The drug companies are banking on you, the loyal Advil user, who now has a cold, choosing Advil cold and sinus for your cold medicine. Advil cures your headaches, right? So of course, Advil cold and sinus is going to fix your cold! If you look at the label too see what's in it, you will find advil (which is the same as motrin, ibuprofen) and some generic cold medicine ingredients! If you were to buy that generic cold medicine that's probably sitting right on the shelf next to it and a bottle of ibuprofen you will save yourself a lot of money and get exactly the same stuff.
I once took care of a man who was in the hospital and having a hardtime sleeping. We generally use Benedryl (actually diphenhydraminine, the GENERIC) as a sleeping medication in the hospital. This medication should not be used in patients with prostate problems. This man had prostate problems, so when he requested a sleeping pill, his doctor told him that he couldn't have Benedryl, but offered him a more potent sleeping medication if he felt he really needed it. The man said he took Tylenol PM at home every night and asked if he could have that if his wife brought it in. The doctor agreed.
The patient told me, his nurse, that his wife was going to bring in his Tylenol PM because his doctor had said he could have it. I asked him if he knew what was in Tylenol PM and he said, "Tylenol." Actually, Tylenol PM contains Tylenol and diphenhydramimine, which is Benedryl, the medication the man shouldn't be taking because he has a prostate problem! The patient (and his doctor) was shocked when I told him this and vowed never to take it again.
This is a perfect example of how consumers can be fooled by brand name drugs. When you ask for an over the counter medication in the hospital, you are usually going to get a generic. They are usually exactly the same thing as the brand name drug and you will save yourself a lot of money if you buy that store brand medication that is right next to the brand name on the shelf.
I realize this is a confusing issue for many people. I welcome any questions on medications that people may have.
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Epinions.com ID:
LauraRN
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Location: Rochester, NY
Reviews written: 64
Trusted by: 22 members
About Me:
Nurse practitioner seeking employment.
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