Many patients in Norway pay more than necessary for their medication because they refuse to switch to cheaper alternatives. In practice, they pay to get a tablet that is round instead of oval, or pink instead of white. The active substance is the same.
“It may seem strange that pharmacies actually want to sell the most affordable brand.
“Good quality control ensures that the affordable ones work exactly the same way as the more expensive ones.
“The authorities have ordered pharmacies to always offer the most affordable medicine when there are several equivalent alternatives.
“It saves money for both the patients and the state,” says Oddbjørn Tysnes in the Pharmacy Association.
Last year, Norwegians bought 3.2 million prescription packs at a higher price than they had too. It cost them an additional NOK 129 million.
“Patients can be completely confident that they will receive exactly the prescription their doctor prescribed, even if there is another product name on the box,” Tysnes said.
© NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today
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