It's not the color, but what's inside that counts when it comes
to medication. However, doctors suspect that's not exactly how
patients see it. According to a study published Monday in the
medical journal Archives of Internal Medicine, changes in pill
color significantly increase the odds that a patient will fail
to take their medication as prescribed by their doctor. First,
the basics Generic drugs are approved by the U.S. Food & Drug
Administration's Office of Generic Drugs. These off-brand
alternatives must be "bioequivalent" to the brand-name version,
meaning they must be identical in terms of dosage form,
strength, route of administration, quality, intended use, and
clinical efficacy. But the FDA does not require that the two
versions look alike. Generics are big business worldwide. In
America, they account for more than 70% of prescriptions
dispensed, but only 16% of spending. Generic prescriptions are
expected to increase even more, as top-selling brand-name
medications reach the end of their market -