Xmas (brand substitution not permitted).

Objective: To study drug prescribing by brand name versus generic name in an Australian teaching hospital.

Results: Overall, 53% of drugs were prescribed by brand name. Brand names were preferred when they were shorter and easier to remember and spell, when there was only one brand on the market, and when the brand name ended in an x.

Conclusion: Doctors might be encouraged to prescribe generically if generic names were devised using the same principles marketers use for devising brand names.