Comment: economic impact of therapeutic substitution of a brand selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor with an alternative generic selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor in patients with major depressive disorder.

摘要

TO THE EDITOR: In light of differences in safety, efficacy, and cost-effectiveness profiles of different selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SS-RIs), controversy surrounds therapeutic substitution of a branded drug with a generic alternative within the same drug class and its impact on the patient's health. Using claims data, Wu et al. conducted a cohort study to explore whether therapeutic substitution of SSRIs in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) was associated with higher total health care costs (ie, drug costs, costs of hospitalizations, costs of emergency department [ED] visits, and other costs). An increase in health care costs was implicitly interpreted to reflect a deterioration in a patient's health as a result of the generic drug's lower safety and/or efficacy.