Generic Statins: Effectiveness, Affordability, and Patient Adherence
Authors: Walter Cullen, Patrick Murray, Anne Harnett
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2014)

Editorials16 September 2014Generic Statins: Effectiveness, Affordability, and Patient AdherenceWalter Cullen, MD, Patrick Murray, MD, and Anne Harnett, MPSI, BPharmWalter Cullen, MDFrom UCD School of Medicine and Medical Science, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland, and University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland.Search for more papers by this author, Patrick Murray, MDFrom UCD School of Medicine and Medical Science, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland, and University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland.Search for more papers by this author, and Anne Harnett, MPSI, BPharmFrom UCD School of Medicine and Medical Science, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland, and University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland.Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/M14-1778 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail Typically, generic medications and those that no longer hold patent protection are considerably cheaper than their brand-name equivalents. Consequently, health care systems increasingly view the prescription of generic drugs (when available) as an important mechanism to contain health care costs. Affordability may be an important factor in promoting adherence to therapy in individual patients (1), but evidence for its effectiveness in improving adherence for specific drug classes, such as statins, is limited (2).For this reason, the study that Gagne and colleagues report in this issue (3) is welcome. They examined a cohort of 90 111 patients who initiated statin therapy ...References1. Shrank WH, Hoang T, Ettner SL, Glassman PA, Nair K, DeLapp D, et al. The implications of choice: prescribing generic or preferred pharmaceuticals improves medication adherence for chronic conditions. Arch Intern Med. 2006;166:332-7. [PMID: 16476874] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar2. Green JB, Ross JS, Jackevicius CA, Shah ND, Krumholz HM. When choosing statin therapy: the case for generics. JAMA Intern Med. 2013;173:229-32. [PMID: 23303273] doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2013.1529 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar3. Gagne JJ, Choudhry NK, Kesselheim AS, Polinski JM, Hutchins D, Matlin OS, et al. Comparative effectiveness of generic and brand-name statins on patient outcomes. A cohort study. Ann Intern Med. 2014;161:400-7. doi:10.7326/M13-2942 LinkGoogle Scholar4. Kesselheim AS, Misono AS, Lee JL, Stedman MR, Brookhart MA, Choudhry NK, et al. Clinical equivalence of generic and brand-name drugs used in cardiovascular disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis. JAMA. 2008;300:2514-26. [PMID: 19050195] doi:10.1001/jama.2008.758 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar5. Shrank WH, Cadarette SM, Cox E, Fischer MA, Mehta J, Brookhart AM, et al. Is there a relationship between patient beliefs or communication about generic drugs and medication utilization? Med Care. 2009;47:319-25. [PMID: 19194329] doi:10.1097/MLR.0b013e31818af850 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar6. Dunne S, Shannon B, Dunne C, Cullen W. Patient perceptions of generic medicines: a mixed-methods study. Patient. 2014;7:177-85. [PMID: 24385381] doi:10.1007/s40271-013-0042-z CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar7. Vallès JA, Barreiro M, Cereza G, Ferro JJ, Martínez MJ, Escribà JM, et al. A prospective multicenter study of the effect of patient education on acceptability of generic prescribing in general practice. Health Policy. 2003;65:269-75. [PMID: 12941494] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar8. Babar ZU, Kan SW, Scahill S. Interventions promoting the acceptance and uptake of generic medicines: a narrative review of the literature. Health Policy. 2014. [PMID: 24973926] doi:10.1016/j.healthpol.2014.06.004 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar9. Haynes RB, Ackloo E, Sahota N, McDonald HP, Yao X. Interventions for enhancing medication adherence. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2008:CD000011. [PMID: 18425859] doi:10.1002/14651858.CD000011.pub3 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar10. Nunes V, Neilson J, O’Flynn N, Calvert N, Kuntze S, Smithson H, et al. Clinical guidelines and evidence review for medicines adherence: involving patients in decisions about prescribed medicines and supporting adherence. London: National Collaborating Centre for Primary Care and Royal College of General Practitioners; 2009. Google Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: From UCD School of Medicine and Medical Science, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland, and University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland.Disclosures: Disclosures can be viewed at www.acponline.org/authors/icmje/ConflictOfInterestForms.do?msNum=M14-1778.Corresponding Author: Walter Cullen, MD, UCD School of Medicine and Medical Science, University College Dublin, Dublin 4, Ireland; e-mail, walter.[email protected]ie.Current Author Addresses: Drs. Cullen and Murray: UCD School of Medicine and Medical Science, University College Dublin, Dublin 4, Ireland.Ms. Harnett: Graduate Entry Medical School, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsSee AlsoComparative Effectiveness of Generic and Brand-Name Statins on Patient Outcomes Joshua J. Gagne , Niteesh K. Choudhry , Aaron S. Kesselheim , Jennifer M. Polinski , David Hutchins , Olga S. Matlin , Troyen A. Brennan , Jerry Avorn , and William H. Shrank Comparative Effectiveness of Generic and Brand-Name Statins on Patient Outcomes Joshua J. Gagne , Niteesh K. Choudhry , Aaron S. Kesselheim , Jennifer M. Polinski , David Hutchins , Olga S. Matlin , Troyen A. Brennan , Jerry Avorn , and William H. Shrank Metrics Cited ByThe need to incorporate generic medicines topic in the curriculum of Yemeni pharmacy colleges 16 September 2014Volume 161, Issue 6Page: 447-448KeywordsDrug adherenceDrug therapyDrugsHealth careHealth surveysPharmacistsPopulation statisticsResearch designStatinsTreatment guidelines ePublished: 16 September 2014 Issue Published: 16 September 2014 CopyrightCopyright © 2014 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF DownloadLoading ...