Object: Re: ProtU08-12-FC FEDERAISF Prof. Silvio Garattini
Dear Doctor Bevilacqua,
Thank you for your kind letter which gives me the opportunity to clarify my thinking on the generic name drug issue. It seems to me that you overemphasize the problem of freedom which is absolutely not at stake here because it is not a question of forcing the doctor to prescribe a certain therapy, but of imposing a "method" of prescription.
Nobody complains because you have to prescribe the drug through a form that is always the same. Thus there should be no objection to the use of the generic name. In fact, the University doctor learns pharmacology through generic names while no one teaches drugs with invented names. The use of the generic name avoids confusion because many invented names often correspond to the same generic name. Finally, the use of generic names does not lead to a decrease in the use of drugs.
I too cordially wish you a Merry Christmas.
Silvio Garattini
