Doctors must now prescribe drugs using their chemical name, not brand names. That’s good news for patients

Description

From today (February 1), when you receive a prescription in Australia, it will list the name of the medication’s active ingredient rather than the brand name. So, for example, instead of receiving a prescription for Ventolin, your script will say “salbutamol”.

This national legislation change, called active ingredient prescribing, is long overdue for Australian health care.