This is much worse than generic substitution. Generic substitution means substituting generic simvastatin for brand-name Zocor - which is generally ok when the patent expires. The corruption here is that Lipitor (atorvastatin) is a different medicine than Zocor (simvastatin). If the doctors thought Zocor was the right med for a certain patient, they would have prescribed it initially!

Also, in classic generic substitution, the patient has the financial incentive, e.g. $5 co-pay for generic, $10 for brand-name - not the doctor. (Remembering, as above, that both have the same active ingredient.)

• posted by John R. Graham
• August 28, 2007 @ 0:07 am
• Permalink

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