What is the purpose of therapeutic equivalency codes?

Therapeutic equivalency codes serve the essential purpose of assessing the therapeutic equivalence of medications. These codes are used to indicate whether two or more drug products are considered therapeutically equivalent, which means they have the same clinical effect and safety profile when administered to patients under the conditions indicated in the labeling. This assessment is crucial for healthcare providers and pharmacists as it allows them to substitute one drug for another safely, especially when considering generic options. By confirming that medications are therapeutically equivalent, these codes support effective treatment outcomes while ensuring patient safety and compliance with regulatory standards.

The other options do not align with the primary function of therapeutic equivalency codes. Rating drugs based on popularity does not involve clinical effectiveness or safety evaluations. Determining market prices pertains to economic factors rather than therapeutic relationships, and classifying drugs based on their side effects focuses on adverse events rather than efficacy and safety in a therapeutic context.