Advertisement

 

doctorslounge.com

 
Powered by
Careerbuilder

 

                    Home  |  Forums  |  Humor  |  Advertising  |  Contact
   Ask a Doctor

   News via RSS

   Newsletter

   Pharmacy

   News

 

 Conferences


   CME

   Forum Archives

   Diseases

   Symptoms

   Labs

   Procedures

   Drugs

   Links

advertisement.gif (61x7 -- 0 bytes)

   Specialties

   Cardiology

   Dermatology

   Endocrinology

   Fertility

   Gastroenterology

   Gynecology

   Hematology

   Infections

   Nephrology

   Neurology

   Oncology

   Orthopedics

   Pediatrics

   Pharmacy

   Primary Care

   Psychiatry

   Pulmonology

   Rheumatology

   Surgery

   Urology

   Other Sections

   Membership

   Research Tools

   Medical Tutorials

   Medical Software

     
 
 

 Headlines:

 
 
 

Doctors Lounge - Pharmacy Answers

"The information provided on www.doctorslounge.com is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between a patient/site visitor and his/her physician."

Back to Pharmacy Answers List

Forum Name: Pharmacology Topics

Question: Prescription Substitution by Pharmacist - a bad thing?


 Pbrandao81 - Sun Mar 02, 2008 3:21 pm Bookmark and Share  

I know pharmacists can give you a different drug then what the prescription designated like a generic version of the same drug, but is there any time when that can be a bad thing, like i recently saw a doctor and he mentioned he had to call an infectious disease specialist to find out what to give me in my specific case(diagnoses - Pneumonia, History - Splenectomy ), then when i got the prescriptions filled both were substitutes? should i go back to the doctor to make sure that I'm getting what i need?the doctor was an ER doctor I don't have a primary care physician?
 Debbie Miller, RN - Wed Mar 05, 2008 11:53 am Bookmark and Share  

User avatar In almost every case the generic equivalent is exactly what your doctor ordered - identical in formulation, not really a substitute of another drug. There are rare cases when a particular brand name seems to work better for someone, or may be smaller in size, but in antibiotics you can be quite confident that these will be perfectly fine.

If the doctor only wanted you to have the brand name, he/she could have indicated that on the prescription. There is a place for them to check if generic substitution is OK or not. If it were significant the doctor would most likely have made that distinction.

Best wishes.
 Pbrandao81 - Sat Mar 08, 2008 2:45 pm Bookmark and Share  

thank you very much for the reply, I figured as much which is why i didn't go back to the doctor, but i still felt it merited a little asking around, and your answer backed by your credentials has put me at ease, thank you
 Dr. Chan Lowe - Sun Mar 09, 2008 10:14 pm Bookmark and Share  

User avatar Hello Pbrandao81,

This is a great question that many people wonder about and Debbie is absolutely correct. I'll add that the pharmacists are not allowed to make any substitutions other than substituting generic for brand name (so it is actually the same medicine) without getting the prescribing physicians permission to do so.

Best wishes.

|

Check a doctor's response to similar questions

 

advertisement.gif (61x7 -- 0 bytes)
 

Are you a Doctor, Pharmacist, PA or a Nurse?

Join the Doctors Lounge online medical community

  • Editorial activities: Publish, peer review, edit online articles.

  • Ask a Doctor Teams: Respond to patient questions and discuss challenging presentations with other members.

Doctors Lounge Membership Application

 
     

 advertisement.gif (61x7 -- 0 bytes)

 

 



We subscribe to the HONcode principles of the HON Foundation. Click to verify.
We subscribe to the HONcode principles. Verify here

Privacy Statement | Terms & Conditions | Editorial Board | About us
Copyright © 2001-2010 The Doctors Lounge. All rights reserved.