Pharmacists are often tasked with substituting generics based on insurance requirements. The conditions under which medications can be substituted are regulated by state and/or federal law, and great pains are taken to abide by those laws while meeting the needs of the customer. If something is a "generic equivalent", it will act the same as the brand in most people (of course there are some exceptions). Sometimes pharmacies are at the will of manufacturer issues. Is BrandX backordered? Do we not fill any prescriptions, or do we bring in product from a different manufacturer? Do we tell multiple patients that we can't fill their script, or do we fill it with a generic equivalent? This happens more often than you can imagine. Class similarities (such as statins, used in the article) are also generally accepted as working similarly, but I can't imagine any pharmacist I've ever known would arbitrarily decide to change your meds from one medication to another, even within a class, without proper regulatory support - insurance, law, dr orders, etc. I just don't see it happening.
Many (most?)customers care only about the price of the med, not the name of it. Some even regularly choose not to take certain meds because of the price (even when they can afford it) or a sense of "knowing better" than the dr (things like: my dad had high cholesterol his whole life and he lived to be 100 without taking meds). Pharmacists work hard to balance safety, customer service, regulatory and insurance requirements and compassion. Most do a great job of it.
It is always a good idea to know exactly what medication you're on, what it is for, what the intended effects are and what expected side effects are. Also, particularly with chronic meds, it's good to note when there is a change in your manufacturer. Most times going from brand to generic#1 to generic #2 to brand to generic, etc makes no difference. Sometimes it does. It's always helpful if you can pinpoint the change to a change in manufacturer.
I'm sure it's happening to people, but I'm confident that it's not nefarious and it's not malicious. Just pay attention to why your prescriber put you on a particular med, and pay attention to the med itself.
**Disclaimer - I've spent many years working in pharmacies and with pharmacists, but I am not one. This post is my opinion, but in no way is it a "professional" opinion.
He needs the drug that works and not a substitute.
