Proprietary drug prescribing

Obligation of physicians to prescribe generic equivalents to proprietary drugs after patent expiration. 

For the practising doctor (in the UK) the British National Formulary provides a regularly updated and comprehensive list of drugs in their nonproprietary (generic) and proprietary names. The range of drugs prescribed by any individual is... 

If a drug is prescribed in the community using a proprietary name, the proprietary product must be supplied. However, if a drug is prescribed by its generic name, in most cases (except, for example, in the case of some sustained-release preparations), any generic or proprietary equivalent may be supplied. 

Once the label(s) has/have been generated, the item(s) may be dispensed. There are many items which may be prescribed via an NHS prescription form and it is important that pharmacists and pharmacy technicians ensure that the correct item(s) are being supplied. Remember, within community pharmacy, if a drug is prescribed using a proprietary name, the proprietary product must be supplied. However, if a drug is prescribed by its generic name, in most cases, any generic or proprietary equivalent may be supplied. (The exception to this is for some sustained-release preparations where the release properties of different brands may vary.)... 

If the drug name is unclear or written on the drug chart as a proprietary product, the ward pharmacist will annotate the entry with the correct generic name (hospital prescribing is not constrained by the same rules regarding the supply of proprietary items as those NHS prescription forms originating in the community (see Section 2.4.1, Part VIII)). If the... 

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