Introduced by Sen. John Gleason (D) on November 29, 2007, to prohibit a pharmacist from interchanging one anticonvulsant drug with an equivalent without notifying and getting consent from the prescribing physician and patient.
Referred to the Senate Health Policy Committee on November 29, 2007.
1) Do Your Homework by Anonymous Citizen on October 6, 2008 This is not about the difference between name brand and generic medications. Some epilepsy patients do better on a generic, while others do better on a name brand prescription. Switching medications (regardless of whether the switch is from name brand to generic, generic to name brand, generic to generic or name brand to name brand) can be extremely dangerous for a person with epilepsy. Switching medications exposes those with epilepsy to an unnecessary risk and an increased chance for a breakthrough seizure. It can take years for a doctor to determine the correct medication dosage and brand for a patient, and switching that medication poses a very dangerous risk. Do your homework, pharmacy student. There is no logical reason for this legislation to not be passed (unless you're too lazy to call the physician, that is). Reply
2) but that would be by Anonymous Citizen on April 21, 2008 giving the doctor and the patient FREEDOM OF CHOICE, which every liberal knows is abhorant to the DEMOCRAT WAY.
3) BAD IDEA!!! by Anonymous Citizen on April 21, 2008 I've looked into this and can't seem to find any actual clinical studies that have shown generics of antiepileptics to be any less effective than the brand name. On the contrary, I've found quite a few trials that show no difference in efficacy.
Furthermore, if a doctor preferred a patient to have brand name, he/she need do no more than write "DAW" on the prescription. If a patient preferred brand, he/she need do no more than ask for it.