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ISSUE 2 APRIL
Dental notes

Frequently asked questions about generic medicines

  • Dr M McCullough
Habits formed in the early years after graduation often remain with us during our working life. Despite continuing professional development, when pressed for time or perhaps in a difficult clinical situation, we often revert to practices established early in our professional career. Prescribing drugs by brand name may be done out of habit, but this may not be in the best financial interest of our patients. We need to continually assess our prescribing habits and consider cost in our choice of drugs. There is usually no reason to be concerned about substituting a bioequivalent generic product for a branded product. To avoid confusion, always tell the patient the active ingredient of the medicine prescribed. When we write a prescription, we are recommending that our patients use a drug, not necessarily a brand.


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Dr M McCullough

Australian Dental Association