Medication Information

Generic medications are safe and effective

If you are concerned about taking a generic medication instead of brand name, don't be. Your generic medication has been proven to be safe and effective.

• Generic medications are required to have the same active ingredients, strength, dosage form and route of administration as the brand name medication.
• All generic medications must be the same (bioequivalent) to the brand name medication in order to obtain approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The process requires measurement of medication levels in the bloodstream after a medication is administered, the generic medication must produce the same medication level in the blood stream as the brand name medication. If the same level is achieved in the bloodstream that means the medication will work the same.
• The FDA monitors adverse effects for all approved medication products, this includes generic medications. All reports are monitored and investigated by the FDA to help make all approved medication products safer.
• All generic manufacturing, packaging, and testing sites must pass the same quality standards as the brand name product manufacturing sites. In fact, many generic medications are made in the same manufacturing plants as brand name products! 

For more information about the safety and effectiveness of generic medications, visit:

http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/ResourcesForYou/Consumers/QuestionsAnswers/ucm100100.htm

Sources:

1. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Generic Drug Facts. Available at https://www.fda.gov/downloads/Drugs/ResourcesForYou/Consumers/BuyingUsingMedicineSafely/GenericDrugs/UCM575213.pdf
2. Generic Drugs. Last updated November 21, 2019.
   https://www.fda.gov/drugs/buying-using-medicine-safely/generic-drug