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Introduction
1. Medications
1.1 Generic names and brand names
1.2 Classification of medications
1.3 Drug interactions and contraindications
1.4 Medications by organ system
1.5 Drug strengths, dose, and dosage forms
1.6 Routes of administration and special handling of drugs
1.7 Medication side effects, adverse effects and allergies
1.8 Indications of medications and dietary supplements
1.9 Drug stability
1.10 Narrow therapeutic index (NTI) medications
1.11 Pharmaceutical incompatibilities
1.12 Proper storage of medications
1.13 Vaccine types and schedules
2. Patient safety and quality assurance
3. Order entry and processing
4. Federal requirements
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1.1 Generic names and brand names
Achievable PTCE
1. Medications

Generic names and brand names

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Any FDA-approved drug has a generic name and a brand name. The United States Adopted Names (USAN) Council gives the generic name of a drug. The generic name is to “chemical name”, as the brand name is to “trade Name”.

Generic name: The generic name consists of a stem and, sometimes, a substem that appears at the end of the name. Stems denote the chemical structure, indication, or action at a specific receptor. Drugs with the same stem are related. It also has a one or two-syllable prefix that differentiates each drug from others in its class.

For example, “sildenafil” and “tadalafil” have a stem “-afil” as they belong to the same class of medications called PDE5 (phosphodiesterase 5) inhibitors. The prefixes are “sil” and “tadal”. The “den” in sildenafil is known as an infix and may be used to classify certain medications further.

Brand name: A specific name given by a drug company or manufacturer protected by a patent.

For example, “Tylenol” is the brand name for “acetaminophen”.

Examples of brand names and generic names of common drugs
Brand name Generic name
Protonix Pantoprazole
Benadryl Diphenhydramine
Tums Calcium carbonate
Nasonex Mometasone
Allegra Fexofenadine
Ventolin Albuterol

A generic medication may be sold under its generic or brand name. For example, Ibuprofen (generic) is sold under various brand names, such as Advil and Motrin.

Sidenote
Bioequivalence:

Generic versions of brand name drugs must be bioequivalent to the original drug. The two drugs should release the active ingredient into the bloodstream at the same amount, at the same rate, and have the same quality

Common drug name stems
Stem Drug class or classification Example
-stat Anti-hyperlipidemics or HMG CoA reductase inhibitors Atorvastatin
-prazole Proton pump inhibitors or PPI for acid reflux/GERD Omeprazole
-lukast Leukotriene receptor blockers Montelukast
-grel Platelet aggregation inhibitors Clopidogrel
-faxine Antidepressants; serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRI) Venlafaxine
-oxetine Antidepressants; selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI) Duloxetine
-sartan Angiotensin II receptor blockers Valsartan
-floxacin Antibiotics; quinolone derivatives Levofloxacin
-vir Antivirals (avir, ovir, ivir) Valacyclovir
-mab Monoclonal antibodies Daclizumab
alol Combined alpha and beta blockers Labetalol
ilol Combined alpha and beta blockers Carvedilol
olol Beta blockers Metoprolol
-olone Non-prednisone steroids Minaxolone
-cillin Penicillins Penicillin
-ase Enzymes Dornase alfa
-caine Local anesthetics Lidocaine, bupivacaine, prilocaine
-conazole Azole antifungals Fluconazole

Prefix “Peg” means that a biologic substance, such as peptide, is pegylated. Infix -io- is added to suggest a high iodine content (e.g. amiodarone). When -fos- appears anywhere in a drug name, the element phosphorus is present (e.g. ifosfamide).

Sidenote
Therapeutic equivalence:
  • Therapeutic equivalence = Bioequivalence + Pharmaceutical equivalence*

  • Therapeutically equivalent drugs are expected to have the same clinical effect and safety profile and contain identical amounts of the identical active drug ingredient in the identical dosage form and route of administration.

  • Therapeutically equivalent drugs can be substituted for each other.

  • Therapeutically equivalent drugs can still differ in shape, color, flavor, inactive ingredients etc.

*Pharmaceutical equivalence means drugs with identical active ingredients in identical amounts (strength), forms, and routes of administration.

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