What are some safety guidelines for generic drugs and medications?
Safety guidelines for generic drugs include sticking with a specific generic if it's working, avoiding time-released formulas and monitoring the drug's effects. Watch as consumer healthcare expert Tod Cooperman, MD, explains these guidelines.
Transcript
--is just monitor how you do on that product because you may be the first one to really know that there's a problem.
A few ways to stay safe with the generics are, first, if it's working for you, stay with it. But look at the bottle.
Because you need to check who the manufacturer is. There could be many other companies making slightly different generics out there.
And if this one's working for you, you can actually request that one from your pharmacist when you get the refill. And if they don't have it, you are
free to call around and find a pharmacy that sells it. Another thing you want to do with generics is be particularly cautious with extended-release products.
These are the ones that end in XL, SR, or ER. And the reason is that, although the active ingredient still
has to be the same in those generics, the pill itself, the technology for releasing that drug steadily
over an extended period of time can be very different. In fact, there's probably still a patent on the original one, so they have to come up with a new one.
And you might be getting the drug at a very different rate and not even absorbing the same amount as with the brand name
medication. A third thing that you want to do with a generic is just monitor how you do on that product
because you may be the first one to really know that there's a problem. As I said, the government is not checking safety and efficacy
of these products. So consumers are really kind of the canary in the coal mine with generic drugs.
drug information
Browse videos by topic categories
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
X
Y
Z
ALL