Denmark's New Substitution Law

At the end of May, after talks between the Health Ministry and the drugindustry were abandoned, the Danish government introduced the Reverse G-Regulation Act.

This Act requires doctors to mark prescriptions specifically to indicate if the original prescribed product may be substituted. Previously, they had to mark a G on it to indicate that generic substitution was acceptable, but now they must write an S to indicate "substitution not acceptable," or a G for synonym substitution. If the prescription is not marked, the pharmacist must supply the cheapest available substitute for the prescribed product.

Local observers say the act was rushed through parliament, with a minimum of consultation with patient groups, consultants, general practitioners or industry. The full Reverse G regulations are to be introduced gradually; the next step is to implement analog substitutions. However, problems regarding liability under the new regulations have yet to be clarified.