Hello again Dr. Fudin!
My 85 yr old mother is confused, and I know you have an answer. She had been on tylenol w/codeine for a couple of years due to chronic pain like myself. I was concerned about daily tylenol use. I suggested she ask her Dr. to rx Burtran’s, which her Pcp did recently. She finds it helpful, but not as much relief as the prior med. I’m sure she is on the lowest dose, which may be increased at some point.
She has a supplemental Medicare Rx plan. Burtran’s is a tier 4. She tells me the RX label from pharmacy states “Burtran’s” and “buprenorphine” in parentheses. I told her she may have a “brand”, not a generic. She states she has the generic because it says “buprenorphine” in parentheses and only that on the patch envelope itself. I tried to explain it to her, but she doesn’t understand what I’m trying to tell her. I know there is a generic because I know of a patient that uses it.
Maybe I’m confused??? Help!
Thank you!
Jacqueline, If a pharmacy dispenses generic Butrans, they must label it as buprenorphine, and some states allow them to include “similar to Butans” or something similar. They cannot label a generic product as Butrans. I;’m unclear to how it was labeled based on your question. Yes, there is a generic Butrans available. The brand name butrans packaging ca be seen at https://img.medscapestatic.com/pi/features/drugdirectory/octupdate/PRD07510.jpg
The generic equivalent can be viewed here https://img.medscapestatic.com/pi/features/drugdirectory/octupdate/PRD07500.jpg and here https://www.empr.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2018/12/burprenorphinetevageneric_1282021.jpg