Ok, so your doctor prescribes a medication. You go to your pharmacy and hand them the prescription slip. They realize that there is a generic alternative to the drug that your doctor prescribed. They dump it in the bottle, put on the childproof cap and you just saved yourself some serious dollars on your co-pay.
All good, right?
Maybe not. The pills beneath that cap may be very similar and serve a similar purpose as the ones prescribed, but they might not be exactly the same.
Some pharmacists legally switch a drug prescribed by a doctor in a common practice called therapeutic substitution. The new drug is in the same class as the old and treats the same condition, but it’s not precisely the same medication.
In most cases, it doesn’t matter much. But in some cases, especially when precise levels of drugs are being combined, it really does. There are a number of reasons these switches take place (most connected to insurance companies and their willingness to cover certain drugs). If your doctor says it matters, make sure your pharmacy knows that too.
