The Rheumatologist
COVID-19 News
  • Connect with us:
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • Feed
  • Home
  • Conditions
    • Rheumatoid Arthritis
    • SLE (Lupus)
    • Crystal Arthritis
      • Gout Resource Center
    • Spondyloarthritis
    • Osteoarthritis
    • Soft Tissue Pain
    • Scleroderma
    • Vasculitis
    • Systemic Inflammatory Syndromes
    • Guidelines
  • Resource Centers
    • Ankylosing Spondylitis Resource Center
    • Gout Resource Center
    • Rheumatoid Arthritis Resource Center
    • Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Resource Center
  • Drug Updates
    • Biologics & Biosimilars
    • DMARDs & Immunosuppressives
    • Topical Drugs
    • Analgesics
    • Safety
    • Pharma Co. News
  • Professional Topics
    • Ethics
    • Legal
    • Legislation & Advocacy
    • Career Development
      • Certification
      • Education & Training
    • Awards
    • Profiles
    • President’s Perspective
    • Rheuminations
  • Practice Management
    • Billing/Coding
    • Quality Assurance/Improvement
    • Workforce
    • Facility
    • Patient Perspective
    • Electronic Health Records
    • Apps
    • Information Technology
    • From the College
    • Multimedia
      • Audio
      • Video
  • Resources
    • Issue Archives
    • ACR Convergence
      • Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Resource Center
      • Rheumatoid Arthritis Resource Center
      • Gout Resource Center
      • Abstracts
      • Meeting Reports
      • ACR Convergence Home
    • American College of Rheumatology
    • ACR ExamRheum
    • Research Reviews
    • ACR Journals
      • Arthritis & Rheumatology
      • Arthritis Care & Research
      • ACR Open Rheumatology
    • Rheumatology Image Library
    • Treatment Guidelines
    • Rheumatology Research Foundation
    • Events
  • About Us
    • Mission/Vision
    • Meet the Authors
    • Meet the Editors
    • Contribute to The Rheumatologist
    • Subscription
    • Contact
  • Advertise
  • Search
You are here: Home / Articles / Commentary: Generic Drugs Can Increase Opportunities for Medication Errors

Commentary: Generic Drugs Can Increase Opportunities for Medication Errors

January 1, 2015 • By Bruce Rothschild, MD

  • Tweet
  • Email
Print-Friendly Version / Save PDF

You Might Also Like
  • U.S. House Panel Spotlights Use of FDA Rules to Slow Generic Drugs
  • When Will Generic Biologic Drugs Become Commercially Available?
  • Sun Pharma Gets U.S. Subpoena over Generic Drugs Pricing
Explore This Issue
January 2015
Also By This Author
  • Opinion: Why Rheumatologists Should Adhere to Standard of Care
The evelope please

What is a generic medication? It can be defined as a form of alternative, but allegedly biochemically identical, medicine for which blood levels are within a certain percentage of the ethical pharmaceutic it replaces, a certain percentage of time. That definition, of course, does not address formulation and additives—the nature of which is usually quite elusive to the patient and prescribing physician.

ad goes here:advert-1
ADVERTISEMENT
SCROLL TO CONTINUE

Beyond the question of efficacy, however, is that of the safety net established with use of ethical pharmaceuticals. No one bats 100%, and we need to function as a team, catching lapses at the earliest possible time. The constancy of ethical pharmaceutical formulation and color coding had allowed facile recognition of dispensing errors.

There is no longer a facile mechanism to verify that the dispensed medication is that which was actually prescribed.

This issue was highlighted when a patient presented with erythema multiforme subsequent to ingesting a newly substituted generic. Unfortunately, the pharmacy denied retention of the batch number—to confirm that the medication was otherwise identical to that ordered by the physician. Thus, we were unable to rule out the prescribed medication as the cause of the drug reaction and had to delete future use of that otherwise very effective intervention.

Ethical pharmaceuticals’ standard coloration allowed development of charts that facilitated their recognition. This has been lost with generics, for which there is no color standardization and for which substitutions are so frequent. There is no longer a facile mechanism to verify that the dispensed medication is that which was actually prescribed.

This is not a clarion for return to use only of ethical pharmaceuticals, but rather is the suggestion that dispensing pharmacies provide a color chart of the generics they are substituting, especially for the generic they are dispensing that month. Thus, we can more effectively work together to ensure patient safety.

ad goes here:advert-3
ADVERTISEMENT
SCROLL TO CONTINUE

Bruce Rothschild, MD, is professor of medicine at Northeast Ohio Medical University and a research associate at the Carnegie Museum. He is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians, the ACR and Society of Skeletal Radiology, and was elected to the International Skeletal Society. While he has been recognized for his research in musculoskeletal disease, he is fundamentally a clinical rheumatologist seeking to improve the safety net for the patients who come under our care.

ad goes here:advert-2
ADVERTISEMENT
SCROLL TO CONTINUE

Filed Under: Drug Updates, Legislation & Advocacy, Safety Tagged With: color chart, Drugs, generic, prescription, rheumatology, Rothschild, SafetyIssue: January 2015

You Might Also Like:
  • U.S. House Panel Spotlights Use of FDA Rules to Slow Generic Drugs
  • When Will Generic Biologic Drugs Become Commercially Available?
  • Sun Pharma Gets U.S. Subpoena over Generic Drugs Pricing
  • Not-for-Profit to Offer 20 Generic Drugs in 2019 to Alleviate Shortages

ACR Convergence

Don’t miss rheumatology’s premier scientific meeting for anyone involved in research or the delivery of rheumatologic care or services.

Visit the ACR Convergence site »

Rheumatology Research Foundation

The Foundation is the largest private funding source for rheumatology research and training in the U.S.

Learn more »

American College of Rheumatology

Visit the official website for the American College of Rheumatology.

Visit the ACR »

The Rheumatologist newsmagazine reports on issues and trends in the management and treatment of rheumatic diseases. The Rheumatologist reaches 11,500 rheumatologists, internists, orthopedic surgeons, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, nurses, and other healthcare professionals who practice, research, or teach in the field of rheumatology.

About Us / Contact Us / Advertise / Privacy Policy / Terms of Use

  • Connect with us:
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • Feed

Copyright © 2006–2021 American College of Rheumatology. All rights reserved.

ISSN 1931-3268 (print)
ISSN 1931-3209 (online)

loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.
This site uses cookies: Find out more.