Doctors and Hospitals in Mexico

Wednesday, May 21, 2014

The Role of Genéricos in Mexico

Dr. Simi's slogan: "the same but cheaper"
As I've written before, many Mexicans just can't afford to go to a regular private doctor, even if the visit costs from $15 to $45 dollars. The same goes with brand and patented drugs, which are cheaper than the prices of drugs in the US, but still unavailable to many people.

Which is why generics are so important to the population. The government doesn't promote them but they see it as a convenient way to give health care without spending resources.

These are the reasons why generic pharmacies are everywhere, and in many cases, they offer the services of doctors for as little as $2 dollars. The most common chains of generic pharmacies are Farmacias del Ahorro and Farmacias Similares (where Dr. Simi will receive you dancing to the most popular songs of the moment). However, you'll also find many small unnamed pharmacies that sell both brand and generic drugs.

The reason I'm writing about generics again is because a new report from Business Monitor claims that generics will be an important factor of Mexico's health care modernization, although in the long term, both the government and private companies will boost the consumption of patented drugs.

The report also listed other developments about investments of private companies as well as changes by government policies which will reduce the time needed to patent new drugs or authorize patented drugs to be sold in the market. If you are interested, you can read more about the report here.

But what do you think? Do you think it'll be a good thing to reduce the requirements to introduce new drugs into the market? Do you think it's a good idea to substitute generics for patented drugs? Do you think generic drugs are not as safe as patented drugs?

Please let me know what your opinion is in the comments. Or read about Texans crossing the border to get health care. You can also read the original article about pharmacies in Mexico.

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Robert Ervin is a freelancer who writes about healthcare, medical tourism, and living in Mexico.

If you're considering traveling to Mexico for healthcare or retiring in Mexico, you may want to get yourself a copy of The English's Speaker's Guide to Doctors and Hospitals in Mexico, in order to find a good doctor or hospital in the main towns and cities of Mexico, or The English Speaker's Guide to Medical Care in Mexico, to understand how the Mexican healthcare system works. 

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