What does DAW 3 indicate in pharmacy practice?

In pharmacy practice, DAW 3 indicates that a brand name product is dispensed, but it is priced as if it were a generic. This coding is important for understanding how the medication is billed to the patient or insurance. It allows pharmacists to provide the prescribed medication while ensuring it is recognized in the billing system as the generic price, reflecting cost savings for patients when available. The emphasis on the brand being priced as generic helps maintain a balance between patient access to medication and financial considerations.

The other choices do not align with DAW 3 because they focus on different scenarios of substitution or necessity of brand products, which do not pertain directly to the specific indication of pricing associated with the DAW 3 code.