This act occurs numerous time throughout the day in houses across the United States, and could be avoided with improved patient education in regards to generic drugs approved by the FDA. As this situation occurs, many patients quickly arrive at the conclusion that someone inaccurately filled their prescription or forwarded them another person by mistake. There is a high likelihood that the prescription you have was filled with a cheaper generic drug that is exactly the same as the more expensive brand name drug you were accustomed to.

Most will hurriedly return to the pharmacy, only to find that the new medication is in fact a generic medication of the same prescription.

But what should you expect to find on the label and in the vial of your generic medication? These are some aspects where generic medications outshine brand name drugs. Understanding these differences, but armed with the knowledge that it is the same medication, can keep you calm when you find a new pill in your bottle and will allow better education from your pharmacist. Take note that although the information beneath is accurate, you need to use other resources for assuring the validity of your prescription. Be sure to contact your pharmacist before taking the medication if you have any doubts or questions. The majority of pharmacies will, however, ensure that the patient is informed of the new generic drug before exiting the pharmacy.

Some differences:

Size/Shape/Color: Since generic drug companies usually are involved in making generic medications and they are normally not related to the brand manufacturer of a specific drug, the manufacturing scheme, design, look and size of a pill will be different, as dictated by the production procedure.
Different manufacturers often use really different styles. While the brand name drug might be an oval purple pill, the generic equivalent could be blue and round. You can feel safe knowing it is just a surface difference and the FDA approved medication will perform just like the brand name drug.

Product Name:  Despite its simplicity, this is often the source of the most confusion. Generic medications are named after the drug’s technical nomenclature based on the chemical configuration. Most of the brand name medications are named such that patients, as well as physicians, can easily remember their names and choose them over others. You probably know that Prilosec is an anti-reflux prescription medication. The formal name of the drug is actually Omperazole, which you very likely have never heard of and would have trouble remembering. Once again, the brand name is normally made to be easily thought of and remembered, while the chemical name behind it is normally utilized as the generic name as per the regulations of the FDA.

Inactive Ingredients: Because of stringent FDA regulations, many prescription drugs that are generics need a chemical identification to the brand counterpart. However, there could be differences in color, binding and texture between the branded product and the generic because of variations in the inactive ingredients. Nonprescription generics tend to have more variations in their inert ingredients than name brands. The important thing to remember here, though, is that the inactive ingredients are the ONLY parts that are different. These ingredients, which are responsible for the taste, texture, shape, color, or binding of the pill, may be different, but do not affect the active ingredients or the effectiveness of the medication.

Cost: This is where things are most different and probably why you decided to use generics. Generic drugs are, on average, as much as 85% less expensive than their brand name counterparts. People frequently are perplexed by the fact that even though they are basically the equivalent medicine, the generics are so much cheaper. Folks mistakenly presume that generic medication is not as potent or as safe as the brand name. They could hardly be more mistaken. There’s a simple reason why generics are cheaper. The name brand which was produced by the initial company had a significant amount of time and funds involved in research and development, testing, obtaining FDA approvals, advertising and generating the actual drug. These companies are given a patent for a given number of years in which they can charge increased cost to recoup the expenses for research and development of the drug before other competition can make cheaper alternatives from the same formula.

When the patent expires, these generic drug companies only have to worry about producing, packaging, and shipping the drug, since the formula is available and they need only reproduce it to suit FDA standards of sameness. Since existing drugs do not incur the billions of dollars in cost needed to research and develop new drugs, the saving in expense is passed down through the channels to the consumer, especially in the case of generic medications. These days, some companies that make brand name products have even resorted to producing generics of their own brand medications in order to capitalize on their “home field advantage”, and engage in competition with generic companies using the drug that they created to begin with.

But why do some folks think generics aren’t as effective as name brands? There is probably some psychological element involved in this, and though it might not be “all in their head”, their conviction that the generic doesn’t work as well can actually lead to slight changes in one’s physiology which make it seem as though the generic drug is not as effective. Imagine the way you start to experience physical changes as a result of mental stresses when you are anxious. Also there are some people who may be allergic to or sensitive to the inactive ingredients in a generic drug, which could impact how effective the medication is. However, to repeat, the FDA supervises drug making, generics included, and they are researched prior to going on the market. The FDA launched an educational campaign in 2007, distributing literature and fact sheets concerning the sale of generics in pharmacies and testing generics for quality. They are subject to FDA testing to guarantee accuracy, consistency and effectiveness of the dosage, just like brand name drugs.

You can save a lot of money with generics. Remember that generics are not made poorly or improperly.  They cost less because the research and development and even the marketing for the medication has been done by the brand maker. This means savings to you because the same medication can be packaged and sold at a far lower price. Have a discussion with your pharmacist if you have concerns about generics. Don’t leave your pharmacy without checking your medications. In this way, if you see a pill or name that is unfamiliar, you can check with the pharmacist to be sure you are getting the highest quality generic version of your brand named prescriptions.