pharmacist and prescriptions

LoveCoke

A friend of mine was give a prescription for medication x by doc and pharmacist gave him medication y containing the same thing. Can they do that? Is that law re generics in force now?

blackbox

Was your friend not happier to be paying less for the same medication?

LoveCoke

blackbox wrote: »

Was your friend not happier to be paying less for the same medication?

he did not pay less. he has a med card and paid 1.50 for something he was not prescribed
are you a pharmacist

Gatling

LoveCoke wrote: »

he did not pay less. he has a med card and paid 1.50 for something he was not prescribed
are you a pharmacist

No he didn't pay less but the HSE did

Its almost standard procedure now 4 out of my 6 meds have been changed to generic's with no issues

coylemj

LoveCoke wrote: »

he did not pay less. he has a med card and paid 1.50 for something he was not prescribed
are you a pharmacist

If your 'friend' has a preference for expensive brands then let him pay for the medication out of his own pocket. Otherwise the HSE has a duty to get value for money on behalf of the taxpayer and if that means dispensing generic drugs then I for one am all for it.

LoveCoke

coylemj wrote: »

If your 'friend' has a preference for expensive brands then let him pay for the medication out of his own pocket. Otherwise the HSE has a duty to get value for money on behalf of the taxpayer and if that means dispensing generic drugs then I for one am all for it.

why is friend in ' '. what you are for or not is irrelevant i just want to know the situation

L1011

Quite a number of pharmacists have agreed with their local GPs to generic substitute.

Also, to be totally honest, demanding brand name when the taxpayer is funding the bill (unless it one of the extremely rare drugs where there is a decent reason for it), is pretty nasty.

mattjack

LoveCoke wrote: »

A friend of mine was give a prescription for medication x by doc and pharmacist gave him medication y containing the same thing. Can they do that? Is that law re generics in force now?

Originally a lot of medication was under a patent , pharmaceutical used this system in order to claw back money spent during research and development.
Now that a lot of patents are expired manufacturers are allowed apply to the IMB ? to make exactly the same medication and sell cheaper..

I'd imagine if the IMB says its ok ... then the pharmacist is allowed sell the generic medication.

Did your friend not mention it in the chemist ?

Most of the medication covered in Ireland , is I think thyroid medication and blood pressure medication.

xzx

Mmmmm, Generrrrrrics!!!

d9oiu2wk07blr5

LoveCoke wrote: »

A friend of mine was give a prescription for medication x by doc and pharmacist gave him medication y containing the same thing. Can they do that? Is that law re generics in force now?

No, they're not allowed to substitute unless it's written on the script and they get the permission of the prescribing doctor. Interesting they substituted for the GMS - there seems to be a lot of them doing that - but they don't do it for private scripts.

Marcusm

Presumably the pharmacist is operating under the Health (Pricing and Supply of Medical Goods) Act 2013 which requires the substitution of generics, where applicable. The pharmacist is not a shop assistant but a degree educated specialist in drugs and drug compounds. One of the reasons we have pharmacists is for a doube check of the suitability of the prescription - particularly dosage levels - they are not there to simply dole out what is written on the script.

Zambia

LoveCoke wrote: »

A friend of mine was give a prescription for medication x by doc and pharmacist gave him medication y containing the same thing. Can they do that? Is that law re generics in force now?

In general the doctor is basically prescribing 50mg* of caffeine.

Pepsi contains 50mg* of caffeine and costs 1.45 cents

Coke contains 50mg* of caffeine and costs 2.00 euro.

In both products you are getting 50mg of caffeine but the marketing and brand name of Coke is stronger.

Thats now the wife explains it to me. As long as the base ingredients are there you will be right. What law do you think has been broken MattJack pretty well summed up the patent issue.

Pro Hoc Vice

Marcusm wrote: »

Presumably the pharmacist is operating under the Health (Pricing and Supply of Medical Goods) Act 2013 which requires the substitution of generics, where applicable. The pharmacist is not a shop assistant but a degree educated specialist in drugs and drug compounds. One of the reasons we have pharmacists is for a doube check of the suitability of the prescription - particularly dosage levels - they are not there to simply dole out what is written on the script.

Has that act been commenced. I can not find the SI that commenced it.