Their results showed that there are many different practices between the different Member States in the EU with regard to generic medicine policies. An overview is given in the table below:

For example, while most countries (22) advocate international non-proprietary name (INN) prescribing, relatively few (4) have made this obligatory, whereas generic substitution by the pharmacist is practiced in the majority of countries (21).

Acknowledgement

This article is published with permission of the Gesundheit Österreich GmbH (GÖG)/Austrian Health Institute.

We gratefully acknowledge the support from Dr Sabine Vogler of Gesundheit Österreich GmbH / Österreichisches Bundesinstitut für Gesundheitswesen (GÖG/ÖBIG – Austrian Health Institute) to GaBI Online.

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Reference

Vogler S, Schmickl B. Rational use of medicines in Europe. Gesundheit Österreich GmbH / Österreichisches Bundesinstitut für Gesundheitswesen (GÖG/ÖBIG). February 2010.