Generic drugs are cheaper

The expense of the daily dose of medicine is a bitter pill for many Americans. Yet more than half of those taking prescription drugs are not taking advantage of an economical option: generic drugs.

The Food and Drug Administration said 52 percent of Americans could save money by choosing generics over brand name drugs.

"The downward spiral of the economy may have many Americans considering a switch to lowercost generic drugs," said Lee Vermeulen, a pharmacist and clinical associate professor at the University of Wisconsin School of Pharmacy. "But there are people who will never, under any circumstances, switch from brand-name drugs to generics."

Vermeulen has expertise in consumer drugbuying habits as a researcher and director of the Center for Drug Policy at UW Hospital and Clinics.

Roughly half of the prescriptions in the U.S. are filled with generic drugs when Medicare, managed care plans and hospital dispensing of drugs are considered, according to Vermeulen. He attributes the relatively low percentage to widespread myths about the safety and effectiveness of generic drugs.

"People don't like change. And patients don't like the thought of using something that's cheap as opposed to inexpensive. The saying 'you get what you pay for' shouldn't apply to generic drugs," said Vermeulen.

When a drug patent expires, usually after 17 years, drug companies may produce generic versions of the drug. Generics must be tested and approved by the FDA.

Vermeulen said that the companies can afford to sell generic versions at a dramatically reduced cost since they don't have the expense of developing a drug from scratch.

Many insurance plans offer low co-pays for generic drugs and much higher co-pays for brand drugs. Vermeulen said that in his experience, the bigger the gap between generic and brand name copays, the more readily patients will seek out generic drugs.

However, consumers should be alert about generic versions of narrow therapeuticindex drugs, according to Vermeulen. Examples of NTI drugs are antiseizure medications, blood thinners and antirejection drugs for transplant patients.

"With these drugs, there is a narrow window between effectiveness and toxicity. Even a small variance in blood levels could cause problems. Patients taking any drugs in this class should be monitored constantly so the level of medication can be tweaked to insure safe results," said Vermeulen.

Under FDA rules, generics must have the same active ingredients, purity, and labeling and deliver the same amount of active ingredients over the same time period.

Since generics are produced by several manufacturers and pharmacies may switch manufacturers, consumers should always ask pharmacists when the color or appearance of a drug changes. The pharmacy must include that information on the label or sticker on a drug container.