The fact is two patients with the same disease often cannot take the same medication because they are different individuals with different needs. And that’s why it’s vitally important for physicians, who know their patients best, to decide which medicine – whether it’s generic or brand-name – to prescribe from a range of therapeutic options.
When patients receive the medicines their doctors want to prescribe, their treatment generally results in better health outcomes and lower costs. When they are pressured to use alternative medicines, they are not always treated effectively and the cost of their care goes up.
For example, a 2005 report by the MaineCare Advisory Committee found increased emergency room visits and hospital stays caused by medication changes ordered by Medicaid.
As for the notion the industry keeps generic drugs from reaching the market in a timely way, to the contrary, the ability of brand-name and generic drug companies to settle patent challenges has been proven to be pro-consumer. Out-of-court settlements have permitted the launch of generic drugs years earlier than would otherwise have been the case.
A study by RBC Capital Markets released in January 2010 found that when negotiated settlements were included, companies were successful in bringing their generic drugs to market before patent expiration in 76 percent of the cases.
