Generic equivalence of dermatologic products. How equivalent is equivalent?

More and more pharmaceutical products are becoming available under the generic designation as patents for their brand-name counterparts expire. Although some generic products are exact duplicates of the brand-name drug, others may vary with regard to their inactive ingredients or in other ways. Sometimes these allowable variations in product formulation are clinically significant for certain individuals. Therefore it is important for both the prescriber and the dispenser of medication to recognize potential differences in marketed products so that a truly equivalent preparation can be provided when a generic substitution is made. This article chronicles a case in which miscommunication and noncommunication led to the suboptimal treatment of a skin disease with a generic "equivalent." Suggestions are made for improving interprofessional communication so that the patient's needs are served to the maximum degree.