Why Use 'Generic' Drugs?

Jun Ariolo N. Aguirre

Kalibo, Aklan- For several years, there has been constant debate for the use of generic drugs among patients and indigents but as the prices of basic commodities soars high the public has no choice but to be vigilant for their health needs.

According to Dr. Emett Custudio, former regional chair of the Philippine Medical Society for Western Visayas most doctors does not prefer recommending generic drugs because of its questionability of the effectiveness of the competitor's version of a certain medicine.

Generic drugs have been defined as drug which is produced and distributed without a brand name. A generic must contain the same active ingredients as the original formulation. In most cases, it is considered bioequivalent to the brand name counterpart with respect to pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties.

But Custudio said, although several doctors does not recommend to patients using generic drugs as a cheaper alternative this could sometimes lead to possible abuses.

Currently, although there is a law mandating the use of generic drugs there is no such laws for a price regulations of medicines being sold in all pharmaceutical firms. As a result, multinational companies could charged high cost of medicines without prescription fron the government.

Sources who requested anonymity said that even government doctors in the province are taking advantage of the abused of not recommending the use of generic drugs because they take 'commissions' not only from the multinational firms who sell certain kind of medicines but also from several pharmaceutical firm.

"There's this on-going practice among public hospitals in Aklan where government doctors prescribed a specific brand of medicines to a patient mandating them to buy such kind of medicines to only a mentioned pharmacy. The family of the patients will then have no choice to buy that medicines since in the first place he is not being oriented to use generic drugs," the source said.

"In fairness, there is a pharmaceutical firms who sell exclusive drugs who has no generic names. But this kind of medicines that does not have generics are often specialized kind of drugs,' the source added.

Larry Barbasa, a pharmacist and the president of the Kalibo Ati-atihan Chamber of Commerce and Industry said that when a patient buys a medicines on their drug store he always encouraged the family to try generic drugs.

"One of my friend, Jun Tansinco a businessman and a contractor have complained to me that he has a toothache one day but he complained of a high cost of medicines worth P70 each. I asked him to try a generic drugs worth P2 and he has proven it effective," Barbasa said.

"For most doctors, they believed on the questionability of effective medicines for branded compared to generics. We in the pharmaceutical world believed that a certain kinds of generic medicines is effective since in the first place it have been approved for release and consumptions by the Bureau of Food and Drugs and the Department of Health," Barbasa added.

Dr. Leonardo Leonidas, a pediatrician based in Bangor, Maine whose wife is an Aklanon told Panay News in an e-mail interview that the patients should be vigilant enough for their doctors and not just obey whatever they recommend.

"We must understand that doctors are human too. They get tired when they have lot of patients specially on government hospitals so often they are not effective doctors anymore specially in the afternoon. This is the result that many medical errors are reported in the United States and even i know many Filipino patients who wanted to seek second opinion when they are not sattisfied with their physician's findings," Leonidas said also a university assistant clinical professor at Tufts University in Bangor, Maine USA

Because of this, Leonidas recommends the patients to be vigilant in taking their medicines and as much as possible seek the doctor's advice in the morning.

"Morning is still the best time to seek doctor's consultation because this is the moment where physician's are most effective in providing healthy prescriptions," Leonidas said.