Physician Use of Brand Versus Generic Drug Names in 1993–1994 and 2003-2004

Abstract

Brand-name terminology is commonly used and decreases over time with the introduction of generic competition. Interventions that standardize medication-naming practices may hasten this decline and increase use of nonproprietary terminology in medicine.

Does educational intervention improve doctors’ knowledge and perceptions of generic medicines and their generic prescribing rate? A study from Malaysia

“…The situation in Malaysia is similar to the findings reported in several countries including Bahrain (10.2%), India (36.5%), Belgium (2.8%) and the United States (2%–22%). 47 – 53 On the other hand, INN prescribing is a common practice in some countries such as the United Kingdom (83%) and Thailand (73.9%). 54 , 55 In Malaysia, although INN prescribing is encouraged in Malaysia generic medicine policy, 13 , 56 there is a gap between formulation and implementation of this policy.…”

Using Medical Words with Family Caregivers

“…Caregivers often report confusion about pain medications, their desired effect, sideeffects, and how to administer medications; 12 so it was not surprising that drug names were most prominent among caregiver medical word usage. Although drugs are commonly referred to by their brand names, 15 caregivers often receive generic equivalents from pharmacies. Drug naming practices change over time, 15 contributing to caregiver confusion; the most problematic look-alike and sound-alike drug names include Roxanol, MSIR and morphine oral liquid, dilaudid and morphine, and clonazepam and klonopin, 16 all of which are common in hospice care.…”

“…Although drugs are commonly referred to by their brand names, 15 caregivers often receive generic equivalents from pharmacies. Drug naming practices change over time, 15 contributing to caregiver confusion; the most problematic look-alike and sound-alike drug names include Roxanol, MSIR and morphine oral liquid, dilaudid and morphine, and clonazepam and klonopin, 16 all of which are common in hospice care. However, drug names and the majority of other medical words identified in this study were used in statements and not as questions aimed at seeking clarification or checking for understanding.…”

The Case for Reforming Drug Naming: Should Brand Name Trademark Protections Expire upon Generic Entry?

“…An analysis of 25,238 outpatient visits to 1,342 US physicians in 2003, for example, found a 79% median frequency of prescribing multisource drugs by brand names [ 14 ]. For drugs long off-patent, there was little evidence that prescribing by generic names had improved over the previous decade [ 15 ]. Similarly, low rates of prescribing of multisource drugs by generic name have been reported in France [ 16 , 17 ].…”