Prescribing generic drugs will reduce patient confusion & medication errors

Drug names are long, complex and there are usually multiple brands for the same product

Australia: In last night’s federal budget, Treasurer Scott Morrison announced an anticipated range of measures to encourage doctors to prescribe generic medicines rather than their more expensive brand name equivalents. So unless specified by the doctor, patients will receive a prescription with the generic medication name on it.

This is part of A$1.8 billion in measures announced to reduce the drugs bill over five years. But beyond saving costs, the push towards generics may also reduce confusion among patients and medication errors.

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“Are you taking aspirin at the moment?” I ask Iris, a pensioner in her 80s.

“No dear,