The Korean Pharmaceutical Association (KPA) on Tuesday demanded the removal of an outdoor advertisement by the Seoul Medical Association that labeled generic name prescriptions as "gambling with your life."
The turf war between doctors and pharmacists, initially sparked by debates over generic drug substitution, is now expanding to encompass the broader issue of prescribing by active ingredient rather than brand name.
"The medical association must immediately cease its unscientific propaganda that denies the national pharmaceutical management system and stop stoking public anxiety," the KPA said in a statement.
Generic name prescribing refers to a system where doctors prescribe medications by their active ingredient rather than brand name, allowing pharmacists to select an appropriate drug containing that ingredient. The government and pharmacists have proposed introducing this system for essential medications facing shortages, which have persisted since the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Generic medications are safe and effective drugs with identical active ingredients that have been scientifically verified by the state," the KPA said. "Following the medical association's logic would lead to the conclusion that tens of thousands of identical-ingredient medications prescribed daily at Korean hospitals and clinics are all unsafe."
The KPA argued that generic name prescribing is "a patient-centered system that guarantees patients' right to know and right to choose." Under the current brand-name prescription system, patients remember specific pharmaceutical companies' product names rather than the exact ingredients they are taking, limiting information access and depriving them of medication choices, the association said.
"When generic name prescribing is introduced, patients will accurately understand the ingredients of their medications and can choose products at various price points with the same efficacy through consultation with pharmacists," the KPA stated. "This creates a transparent and rational pharmaceutical consumption environment."
The pharmacists' group emphasized that generic name prescribing is "strongly recommended by the World Health Organization and is a global standard already implemented in developed countries," calling it "an imperative of our times for the sustainability of national health insurance finances."
"Instilling fear in the public is conduct that abandons professional ethics," the KPA said. "Such behavior only damages the precious trust relationship among doctors, pharmacists, and patients while adding to social confusion."
The KPA warned the Seoul Medical Association to "immediately remove and apologize for the unethical and unscientific outdoor advertisement that promotes distrust in pharmaceuticals by stoking public anxiety."
"Stop the wasteful disputes for monopolistic vested interests and join productive discussions for patient welfare and healthcare system advancement," the statement concluded. "We will firmly respond to irrational propaganda and take the lead in creating a healthcare environment based on scientific evidence."