Savings with generic drugs add up

Their names are quite different, their costs vary and their appearances are worlds apart.

But when it comes down to potency, dosage, intended use, performance and safety, generic drugs are no different than their name-brand counterparts.

For those reasons, and because of the recession, some Southern Nevada health care providers are suggesting that patients consider generic drugs to cut down on health care costs.

"Generics are appropriate, especially from an economical standpoint,'' said Dr. Cory Russell, a primary care physician for UMC Quick Care. "Do they not work in some situations? Absolutely. But for the most part, they are no different than brand-name drugs."

An example of when a generic might not be suitable for a patient versus a brand-name is with certain antibiotics, Russell said. Because antibiotics have been around for many years, some patients will develop a resistance to them. In those situations, a brand-name antibiotic that has been on the market a shorter period of time might be better for the patient than one that has been around a long time, Russell said.

The older drugs "have a chance of failing,'' he said.

Russell said patients should not fear generic drugs.

Although generics by definition are copies of brand-name drugs, the federal Food and Drug Administration requires the same standards for them as they do any other drug, said Don Frisch, a University Medical Center clinical pharmacist.

Aside from appearance, packaging and the name, the only difference between generics and brand names is the price. And that has nothing to do with quality or effectiveness, Frisch said.

Generics are less expensive because their manufacturers didn't have to pay for research and development or for the marketing of the drugs, since they were directly copied from brand-name drugs. Brand-name drugs, or newly patented drugs, must be marketed because nobody knows about them, Frisch said.

"This is not a slam on brand-name drugs, because they do get hammered for having high prices. But they only have so much time to recoup money for years of research and marketing. It's really tough.''

Frisch said when a pharmaceutical company brings a new drug to the market, tens of millions of dollars have been spent researching, developing, marketing and promoting the drug. A patent is granted that gives the company exclusive rights to sell the drug as long as the patent is in effect.

According to the FDA's Web site, patents expire 17 years from the date of the first filing.

Once the patent expires, a generic manufacturer can apply to the FDA for permission to make and sell generic versions of the drug.

"Since the generic versions don't need to be marketed, the companies that make those drugs don't need start-up costs to make the drug from scratch,'' Frisch said.

Two drugs have generic versions, but the FDA doesn't consider them to be exact matches and therefore doesn't believe they have the same effectiveness as the brand names, Frisch said. Those two drugs are Coumadin, a blood thinner, and Synthroid, a synthetic thyroid hormone.

The generic version of Coumadin is warfarin. The generic version of Synthroid is levothyroxidine.

Because the FDA doesn't consider the generics to be exact matches of Coumadin and Synthroid, Frisch said doctors are hesitant to prescribe them.

Hospitals other than UMC also encourage generic drugs, as well as other prescription drug programs, as a way to save money.

Most drugs stocked in Valley Hospital Medical Center's InstyMeds machine are generics, hospital officials said.

Patients can purchase prescribed medications from the vending machine in the hospital's emergency department. It is stocked with prepackaged antibiotics, decongestants, painkillers and inhalers, health officials said.

United Health Services, which operates Valley Hospital and four other hospitals in Las Vegas that make up the Valley Health System, launched a prescription savings program in late 2007 to help patients save on drug costs.

During the first three quarters of 2008, the program saved patients roughly $38,000, said Howard Dorsky, director of the centralized billing office for the Valley Health System.

The program is for the uninsured and the insured, he said.

Although figures aren't available for recent quarters, more patients are enrolling in the program, said Stacy O'Meara, admitting manager of the Valley Health System.

"With today's economy, everyone's welcoming a discount if they can get it,'' she said.

Emergency room patients who have been given a prescription are told about the prescription savings program, O'Meara said.

If they choose to enroll, they are given a card that enables them to get their prescriptions filled at a participating pharmacy where they can save up to 60 percent of retail costs. The prescription card is valid at more than 33,000 retail pharmacies across the country, including Walgreens and CVS, Dorsky said.

"The program is very big in areas, like Las Vegas, where there's a large indigent population. It's bad enough that these people don't have health insurance, then they get sick and need expensive drugs to get better."