The Australian Medical Association (AMA) says warnings about the price and safety of generic medicines are a fear campaign.

Pharmaceutical company Nycomed says it has conducted a survey into pharmacy-recommended generic drugs which shows evidence of customer confusion which could lead to overdoses.

Nycomed also says generic medicines might not always be cheaper than brand-name medications.

But AMA vice-president Steve Hambleton says the claims are irresponsible.

"I think the generic industry in this country has been very important to make sure the prices we are paying for medications are reasonable," he said.

"I think that any claims that they are unsafe, in the main, are untrue."

Dr Hambleton says generic medicines are proven equivalents and also work to regulate the price of brand-name drugs.

"Generic medicines in this country are registered," he said.

"You cannot get them on to the market unless they are proven to be the equivalent. We can have confidence in our regulators.

"With generics coming onto the market in this country, it significantly reduces the price of medicines in this country which wouldn't exist if we didn't have that part of the market."

But Nycomed managing director James Jones has defended the study.

"Our objective with this study was really just to raise awareness of the whole issue around generic substitution and that sometimes generic medications are not always cheaper than their branded equivalents," he said.