Tips to switch your practice from branded to generic eye drops

Take-home message: Switching from brand to generic eye drops for surgical prophylaxis following cataract surgery caused no difference in endophthalmitis rates and resulted in substantial cost savings in a single-center comparison.

 

By Nancy Groves; Reviewed by John A. Vukich, MD

Madison, WI-Generic and brand therapeutics-whether antibiotics, corticosteroids, and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs)-were equally effective in preventing infection following cataract surgery in a single-center comparison based on 6 years of data.

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The comparison also found a dramatic difference in costs for the drugs-more than $1 million less during a 3-year period in which only generic medications were used compared with an earlier 3-year period in which patients were treated with brand drugs.

The evaluation-which was not a formal, rigorous scientific study-showed that the rate of endophthalmitis was about 1 in 2,000 during both study periods, said John A. Vukich, MD, who is in private practice in Madison, WI. This rate of infection is consistent with published figures.

Making the change

Given the comparable clinical efficacy and substantial cost savings, the seven ophthalmic surgeons at the ambulatory surgery center have continued to use only generic topical medications for postoperative prophylaxis since making the change 4 years ago.

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“We concluded that there was no real reason at this point, based on our experience, to revert to the brand,” Dr. Vukich said. “We weren’t expecting a dramatic change, but there was no observable signal.”

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