Abstract

Background: Increased health-care expenses are a major concern in a country like ours where economic conditions are on the lower side. The Government of India to control the increased health-care expenses launched the Jan Aushadhi scheme in April 2008 by providing low-cost generic medicine. However, the results have not been as expected. Aims and Objectives: The current study was designed to have insight into this problem by studying knowledge, attitude, and practices (KAP) among doctors and patients.
Materials and Methods: This study was conducted in Government Medical College, Jammu and surrounding hospitals where the doctors and patients were provided with a prevalidated questionnaire comprising total 42 questions based on KAP. A total of 104 participants (48 doctors and 56 patients) and their responses were recorded and presented as number percent.
Results: All the participating physicians were aware of the Pradhan Mantri Jan Aushadhi scheme and availability of its stores. 83.3% of doctors knew that the Jan Aushadhi medicines are cheaper than other brand products, whereas 25% of doctors believed that generic medicines are slow to act. Almost all doctors (83.3%) agreed that the economic condition of the patient should be the prescribing criteria for generic medicine. 16.66% of doctors said that they prescribe Jan Aushadhi generic medicines. 75% of patients were unaware of Jan Aushadhi and all patients agreed that branded medicines are expensive and wanted cheaper alternatives. Most of the patients (87.5%) believed that Jan Aushadhi medicine is one such alternative. Conclusion: We conclude that some of the doctors are still not convinced about the efficacy and promptness of Jan Aushadhi generic medicines. Maximum doctors do not prescribe generic medicines. Hence, the doctors should be encouraged to use more of Jan Aushadhi generic medicines and patients should also be educated about this scheme.