Save money replacing your branded medicine with generic equivalent.
Sometimes
your doctor has prescribed a drug but that particular brand is not available at
the medical store (or is too expensive). At this instance, your store chemist or
pharmacist may look at other cheaper alternatives for your drug having exactly
or almost equal composition of active ingredients as that of your prescribed
drug.
This
replacement is usually a generic drug. A generic drug is a drug product that is
comparable to brand/reference listed drug product in dosage form, strength,
route of administration, and intended use.
For example,
if your doctor has prescribed Crocin (a branded drug, commonly used to treat
fever and ache), it has Paracetamol as its active ingredient and your chemist
will give you an affordable option (branded or unbranded) having equivalent
amount of paracetamol.
A pediatric
surgeon suggested, a few online databases in India where one can research drug,
study their compositions and also learn about their alternatives. Some
databases may also include retail prices to ease your task.
Mims.Com-MIMS drug database is the most popular
reference source among medical professionals in India. The site requires free
registration but you may use a Google query like site:mims.com <drug name> and skip the site search feature.
MedIndia.net – Here
you can search drugs by their generic name or the brand name. Med India is not
the most user-friendly site (ad-heavy) but it does help you compare the prices
of various brands of drugs with the same generic drug.
HealthKartPlus.com– This is another
generic drug search engine that is also available as an app for Android and iOS
devices. HealthKartPlus doesn't confuse consumers with excess jargon – you will
learn about the salts in the drug, substitutes offered by other brands and
their respective prices.
GetDavai.com – This is primarily for
comparing drug prices with the same constituents but from different brands. You
can enter the medicine name and GetDavai will quickly list branded equivalents
and their prices. The website however includes no information about the
developer or their source of drug data.
MyDawaai.com – Another iOS and Android app that will help you quickly
find equivalent brands of medicines along with their prices and generic names.
Unlike other drug search engines, MyDawaai’s database also includes details of
small drug manufacturers in India.
These sites will
obviously help improve your overall knowledge of drugs but it is always
advisable to consult your doctor before switching to a substitute.
These medical databases are mostly applicable for Indian users only.
Special gratitude for source material- Labnol.org
