Generic drugs can cause side effects

The Norwegian State is forcing sick people to use generic drugs in an attempt to save money, even though a recent study has found that one out of every three patients experiences unwanted side effects when they start using the generic brand.

A recent study conducted by the University of Oslo, concludes that one third of the patients experiences problems when they start using generic drugs. In many cases the change of drugs also leads to the wrongful use of the medication, according to Norwegian newspaper Vårt Land.

The use of generic drugs has gone up by almost 500 percent in the last seven years. Norwegian pharmacies were in 2001 ordered by the State to replace all prescription drugs with cheaper generic brands.

This arrangement has reduced the costs for both the Norwegian State and the patients concerned, but the change is problematic, according to Deputy Chairman of the Norwegian Medical Association, Ove Edvard Strand.

- A doctor who prescribes a drug to a patient has no idea what kind of drug the patient eventually will end up with, and that’s definitely a problem, Strand says.

The doctor will prescribe a specific drug, but the pharmacist is obliged to replace the prescribed drug with a cheaper generic brand and give it to the patient.

The risk of wrongful use increases with age.

- The older the patient is, the higher the odds are of wrongful use. Even though the new pills may look different, not everybody understands that they are to be used instead of the old pills. Some old patients end up taking both pills just to be on the safe side, Professor at the University of Oslo, Else-Lydia Toverud says.

Source: VG Nett