Budget to change the way medications are prescribed

Changes in the federal budget to be unveiled next week mean Australians will find themselves prescribed generic medications as opposed to big brands automatically, in a move that has been rejected by the Australian Medical Association as not being in the patients’ best interests. 

The changes mean that the software used by doctors to prescribe medication will automatically prescribe the generic medication as the default. Doctors will still be able to actively choose the brand name medication, however, changing the prescription of generic medication to an “opt-out” system. 

Tony Bartone, vice-president of the AMA told ABC’s 7.30 that the AMA is opposed to the changes. 

“It’s about understanding our patients and making a decision that’s in the patient’s best interests, as well as one that’s guided by years of clinical expertise and experience, he said. 

“We understand our patients, we know what works for them and we know the peculiarities and the idiosyncrasies about what works for them.”

Health Minister Greg Hunt told 7.30 that the government is committed “that there will always be 100 per cent doctor control over the prescriptions that they give.”

The Pharmacy Guild and the Therapeutic Goods Administration have expressed their support for the change which will reportedly see, in conjunction with other changes, $1.8 billion saved over five years. 

Adjunct Professor Tim Greenaway, the chief medical adviser at the TGA assured that the generic medications act identically to the brand names while delivering big savings. 

“The role of the TGA which is to ensure the safety, quality and efficacy of medications, is such that when copy products or similar products come onto the market, we assess them to make sure they are equivalent to the reference product, and that the efficacy for patients would be identical,” he said.  

Currently, 58 per cent of prescriptions dispensed in Australia are for generic medications, compared to 84 per cent in the United States, 83 per cent in the United Kingdom, 77 per cent in New Zealand and 70 per cent in Canada.

Do you have a preference between big brand name medication or generics?