ATTITUDE TOWARDS GENERIC FORMULATIONS USAGE: NARROWING THE GAP BETWEEN PHARMACIST AND PHYSICIANS

Authors

  • Lavanya D. Department of Pharmacy Practice, Sri Venkateswara College of Pharmacy, Chittoor 517127
  • Dhivya K. Department of Pharmacy Practice, PSG College of Pharmacy, Coimbatore 641004
  • Deekshitha P. Department of Pharmacy Practice, Sri Venkateswara College of Pharmacy, Chittoor 517127
  • Pravallika S. Department of Pharmacy Practice, Sri Venkateswara College of Pharmacy, Chittoor 517127
  • Kesini M. Department of Pharmacy Practice, Sri Venkateswara College of Pharmacy, Chittoor 517127

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.22159/ijpps.2019v11i1.30312

Keywords:

Generic drug, Brand drug, Pharmacist, Physician

Abstract

Objective: The thought of providing the best quality of medicines at cheaper costs made the governments to think of generic drug substitutions in order to minimize the economic burden. This study was designed to investigate the attitude of physicians and pharmacists towards generic medicines and thus to reduce the gap between them.

Methods: This is a simple, prospective, cross-sectional, comparative study conducted for a period of 3 mo. 100 Subjects (50 pharmacists and 50 physicians) were included in this study. Subjects who ever graduated with the pharmacy degree and working as pharmacists, as well as clinical practitioners, were included in this study. Data collected using a validated questionnaire.

Results: 60% of physicians and 80% of pharmacists were confident enough in dispensing generic products. 56% of physicians agree that pharmacists play a vital role in providing assistance on the use of generic medicines. 70% of physicians and 90% of pharmacists agreed that the generic medicines are of less expensive.

Conclusion: Our Study concludes that pharmacist's shows a higher positive response towards the usage of generic products than physicians. Generic drugs typically cost 30% to 60% less than their brand products. In addition, patients taking generic drugs seem to be more willing to continue therapy.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Philip Mathew. Generic drugs: review and experiences from South India. J Family Med Prim Care 2015;4:319-23.

Das M, Choudhury S, Maity S. Generic versus branded medicines: an observational study among patients with chronic diseases attending a public hospital outpatient department. J Nat Sci Biol Med 2017;8:26-31.

Hassali MA, Shafie AA, Jamshed S, Ibrahim MI, Awaisu A. Consumers' views on generic medicines: a review of the literature. Int J Pharm Pract 2009;17:79-88.

Amitav C, Chris J. The influence of generic advertising on brand preferences. J Consumer Res 2004;30:487–502.

Tsiantou V, Zavras D, Kousoulakou H, Geitona M, Kyriopoulos J. Generic medicines: greek physicians' perceptions and prescribing practices. J Clin Pharm Ther 2009;34:547-54.

Singal GL, Nanda A, Kotwani A. A comparative evaluation of price and quality of some branded versus branded-generic medicines of the same manufacturer in India. Indian J Pharmacol 2011;43:131-6.

Andrade C, Rao TSS. Prescription writing: generic or brand? ‎Indian J Psychiatry 2017;59:133-7.

Mohamed AH, Asrul AS, Chee PC, Fahad S, Muhammad A, Chua G, et al. Community pharmacist’s perceptions towards the quality of locally manufactured generic medicines: a descriptive study from Malaysia. J Appl Pharm Sci 2012;2:56-60.

Mikyung R, Juyoung K. Perception and attitude of Korean physicians towards generic drugs. BMC Health Serv Res 2017;17:610.

Mott DA, Cline RR. Exploring generic drug use behavior: the role of prescribers and pharmacists in the opportunity for generic drug use and generic substitution. Med Care 2002;40:662-74.

Kirking DM, Ascione FJ. Perspectives on generic pharmaceuticals: some conclusions. J Am Pharm Assoc 2001;41:826-8.

Auta A, Bala ET, Shalkur D. Generic medicine substitution: a cross-sectional survey of the perception of pharmacists in North-Central, Nigeria. Med Princ Pract 2013;23:53-8.

Gellad ZF, Lyles KW. Direct-to-consumer advertising of pharmaceuticals. Am J Med 2007;120:475-80.

Suzanne SD, Colum PD. What do people really think of generic medicines? A systematic review and critical appraisal of literature on stakeholder perceptions of generic drugs. BMC Med 2015;13:173.

Dunne S, Shannon B, Dunne C, Cullen W. A review of the differences and similarities between generic drugs and their originator counterparts, including economic benefits associated with usage of generic medicines, using Ireland as a case study. BMC Pharmacol Toxicol 2013;14:1.

Josef M, Martin D, Ales K, Jiri V. Analysis of pharmacists opinions, attitudes, and experiences with generic drugs and generic substitution in the Czech republic. Acta Pol Pharm Drug Res 2013;70:923-31.

Hayelom G, Abadi K, Gebremedhin G. Assessment of knowledge, attitude and practice of pharmacists and physicians toward generic medicine use in private clinics and dispensary of mekelle city, northern Ethiopia. Eur J Pharm Med Res 2016;3:114-21.

Shadi S, Clara AS, Stewart J, Joanne C, Nour E. Perceptions and behaviors of patients and pharmacists towards generic drug substitution in Lebanon. Int J Clin Pharm 2017.

Catic T, Avdagic L, Martinovic I. Knowledge and attitudes of physicians and pharmacists towards the use of generic medicines in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Med Glas (Zenica) 2017;14:25-32.

Hassali MA, Shafi AA, Ahmed A, Mohamed I, Chong CP. Physicians' views on generic medicines: a narrative review. J Generic Med 2010;7:30–9.

Paveliu MS, Bengea S, Paveliu FS. Generic substitution issues: brand-generic substitution, generic-generic substitution, and generic substitution of narrow therapeutic index (nti)/critical dose drugs. Maedica 2011;6:52-8.

Akhtar T, Maqsood M, Bashir MA, Gul UH, Rashid A. To study and compare the perception of health care professionals regarding the role of the pharmacist in the health care system in Pakistan. Multidisciplinary J Education Social Technol Sci 2017;4:1-25.

O’Leary A, Usher C, Lynch M. Generic medicines and generic substitution: contrasting perspectives of stakeholders in Ireland. BMC Res Notes 2015;8:790.

Published

01-01-2019

How to Cite

D., L., D. K., D. P., P. S., and K. M. “ATTITUDE TOWARDS GENERIC FORMULATIONS USAGE: NARROWING THE GAP BETWEEN PHARMACIST AND PHYSICIANS”. International Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, vol. 11, no. 1, Jan. 2019, pp. 117-20, doi:10.22159/ijpps.2019v11i1.30312.

Issue

Section

Original Article(s)