Joseph K. Vaughan, Jr., M.D.
Fort Worth, TX
903-714-9044
Transcript: Brand name versus generic drugs
The major difference between brand name and generic drugs is obviously the price. In general, there’s a minimal amount of difference for most kinds of medications between generic and brand name medications. In the case of a lot of medicines that we use in neurology particularly seizure medications and pain medications, I think however there’s a sufficient difference between the two medications to suggest that we should employ by and large brand name medications if at all possible if they can be afforded by the patient.
The differences between the contents of the medications and allowances by the FDA suggest that we don’t have as tight of control over the generic medications and patients can either be under dosed or over dosed and not know whether they’re under or over dosed based on the content of the individual medicines that they are receiving. The advantage of having a lower price than may be offset by not knowing exactly the dosage you are being given.
In facial pain syndromes in particular like other pain syndromes, getting control of the pain and preventing it from coming back is crucial to management. This means that you must employ doses and dosing levels that are reliable and this is sometimes difficult to do in generic medications. This is why I generally favor if patients can afford them to use brand name medications.