5 ms·

If no one is making a generic, or more to the point doctors are prescribing "EpiPen" rather than "epinephrine autoinjector" being out of patent won't help. In

If no one is making a generic, or more to the point doctors are prescribing "EpiPen" rather than "epinephrine autoinjector" being out of patent won't help. In the UK doctors had to switch to prescribing generics I think as far back as the 80s. Brands are now only prescribed, with a few exceptions, when it's something new enough to not have a generic yet. Before that lots of things were often prescribed by brand without good reason.

maxerickson 10y ago
My experience in the US is that doctors prescribe drugs with generic alternatives anytime they can. I'm not sure if I've ever even taken a branded prescription pill.
- chapium 10y ago
  Same experience here. Usually a name brand is mentioned as well, which I always chuckle at.
- importantbrian 10y ago
  Yeah, my old doctor would always prescribe generics, and if he knew you were hard up and might not even be able to afford the generics he would try to get samples from the reps anytime he could and just give them to you.
- deleted 10y ago
  [deleted]
- tzs 10y ago
  Furthermore, even if the doctor writes the brand name drug on the prescription in the US and in Canada the pharmacist can substitute the generic, unless the doctor explicitly says no substitutions on the prescription.
- mikeyouse 10y ago
  Doctors in the US are reimbursed by Medicare/Medicaid and private insurances based on the rates of generics they prescribe. They look at each type of doc (Oncologists obviously use more Brand Name drugs than pediatricians) and make sure that every doctor falls in a tight band with incentives to 'beat' the number. Most hospitals have specific formularies tilted toward generics as well, if a doctor writes "Tylenol" for a patient, they're given generic acetaminophen. More interesting is that if a doctor writes a script for something like a Brand Name statin, the formulary will auto-substitute for the hospital's drug of choice, now typically generic Lipitor.

maxerickson 10y ago

My experience in the US is that doctors prescribe drugs with generic alternatives anytime they can. I'm not sure if I've ever even taken a branded prescription pill.

chapium 10y ago
Same experience here. Usually a name brand is mentioned as well, which I always chuckle at.
importantbrian 10y ago
Yeah, my old doctor would always prescribe generics, and if he knew you were hard up and might not even be able to afford the generics he would try to get samples from the reps anytime he could and just give them to you.
deleted 10y ago
[deleted]
tzs 10y ago
Furthermore, even if the doctor writes the brand name drug on the prescription in the US and in Canada the pharmacist can substitute the generic, unless the doctor explicitly says no substitutions on the prescription.
mikeyouse 10y ago
Doctors in the US are reimbursed by Medicare/Medicaid and private insurances based on the rates of generics they prescribe. They look at each type of doc (Oncologists obviously use more Brand Name drugs than pediatricians) and make sure that every doctor falls in a tight band with incentives to 'beat' the number. Most hospitals have specific formularies tilted toward generics as well, if a doctor writes "Tylenol" for a patient, they're given generic acetaminophen. More interesting is that if a doctor writes a script for something like a Brand Name statin, the formulary will auto-substitute for the hospital's drug of choice, now typically generic Lipitor.