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ACADEMIA AND CLINIC

Allergic to Generics

Troyen A. Brennan, MD, and Thomas H. Lee, MD

20 July 2004 | Volume 141 Issue 2 | Pages 126-130

A 69-year-old woman with several medical problems believes that she is allergic to generic medications. She frequently conflicts with her long-time primary care physician, who, as required by the patient's insurance coverage, refuses to prescribe brand-name drugs when generic alternatives are available. This conflict intensifies to a crisis when the patient develops life-threatening problems and still will not take prescribed generic medications. The presentation of this real case is accompanied by a discussion of the ethical dilemmas of the patient's physician, who must weigh the interests of a patient who clings to beliefs that the physician thinks are unfounded against the interests of a just rationing program and the broader population it serves.

Author and Article Information

From Brigham and Women's Hospital, Partners Community Healthcare, Harvard Medical School, and Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts.

Potential Financial Conflicts of Interest: None disclosed.

Requests for Single Reprints: Troyen A. Brennan, MD, Brigham and Women's Hospital, 75 Francis Street, Boston, MA 02115; e-mail, tabrennan{at}partners.org.

Current Author Addresses: Dr. Brennan: Brigham and Women's Hospital, 75 Francis Street, Boston, MA 02115.

Dr. Lee: Partners Community Healthcare, Inc., Prudential Tower, 11th Floor, 800 Boylston Street, Boston, MA 02199.

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Annals 2004 141: 131-136. [ABSTRACT][Full Text]  

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