With more and more people relying on online medicine delivery services as their first option for meeting their everyday health care needs, the concept of generic (or “substitute”) products has raised some questions. Generic products are usually suggested by your pharmacist as an alternative to your exact prescription drug when the actual medication you want can’t be found in stock at that particular time; however, the pharmacy has another generic product with the same active ingredients and strength as your original prescribed medication that they will dispense to you. It should be safe and as effective as long as it was chosen appropriately.
The main factor to consider when selecting a generic product is whether the same salt is there within the generic product being recommended. The term salt refers to the ingredient or the formulation contained in the medicine. As long as the generic product contains the exact same active salt as the prescription medication you originally ordered, regulatory agencies have established guidelines requiring all generic products to meet the same level of quality, safety, and efficacy standards as the prescription medication they were created to replace. Thus, for the vast majority of patients, the generic product will produce the same therapeutic effects as the original prescription medication.
Not all substitutions of generic products are equally suitable. For example, differences in the dosage forms, rate of release, or presence of inactive ingredients may alter how the product is absorbed by the body. For example, the absorption characteristics of an immediate-release tablet may differ from those of a sustained-release tablet. Therefore, pharmacist review and verification prior to approving any substitution is essential.
Individuals who have allergies or are taking medications for multiple chronic conditions should exercise greater caution. Although it is rare, even small changes in inactive ingredients may cause some individuals to experience a reaction to a new generic product or may interact with one of the individual’s current medications in a manner that was not anticipated. Additionally, reading the product information leaflet associated with each generic product and verifying the accuracy of the information provided with a health care professional provides a second layer of protection.
Instead of automatically substituting generic versions of prescriptions for the physician’s intended brand name prescription, the best practices in this area are to perform clinical checks within the order management process. These clinical checks will help to ensure that the patient is receiving the correct product as it relates to their individual clinical history. If an online medicine delivery service uses clinically validated substitution protocols, and if they provide clear communication to the patient about the generic medications being used, then the patient should be able to continue their current course of therapy without a negative impact on the safety and efficacy of their prescribed therapy.