Denis Naughten (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The human dimension cannot be forgotten. In some cases, there may be a number of brands of a product that can be substituted. One can have Mrs. Murphy, for example, receiving brand A for her heart condition for the past six years but receiving brand B one day and brand C on another. This may be only one of her medications, as she could be on 15 tablets for 15 conditions. This switch could confuse her.

Will the Minister of State ensure that if substitution takes place there is some consistency, so that a patient is not switching every month from one medicine to another? That only adds to the confusion.

More important, there is a requirement for measures to be put into the legislation such that the adhesive label that the pharmacist puts on the medicine outlines the particular medical condition that is being treated. At least then, if an individual has 14 or 15 medications and the brand is changed from month to month or every few months, he will know that a given medicine is for his blood pressure or something else, because he will be used to having a medicine from one particular manufacturer. Such an individual understands that a given tablet is for his heart and so on. This is not only to ensure compliance in taking the medication but also to deal with the fact that when that individual visits a consultant and the consultant asks whether he is on anything for his heart, he might say that he does not know because he has 15 different tablets and he is unsure what they are for. Unless that individual brings the bag of medication with him he will be unable to explain the details to the consultant. There is an issue of familiarity with regard to medications prescribed at the moment.

I have no difficulty with generic substitution but there should be some consistency and, more importantly, the exact purpose of any given medication should be put on the label in order that the individual knows he is taking a particular tablet for a given condition. It would facilitate compliance.