E-ISSN 2231-3206 | ISSN 2320-4672

2016, Vol:6,Issue:4

Research Articles
  • Natl J Physiol Pharm Pharmacol.2016; Volume:6(4):276-281 doi : 10.5455/njppp.2016.6.23022016127
  • Beliefs and attitudes of generic versus original drugs among doctors in a tertiary care hospital in Western India
  • Kanchan R Singh , Abhishek M Phatak , Mugdha A Sathe

Abstract

Background: Physicians have a choice between original and generic drugs while prescribing to patients. The original and generic drugs are rarely studied against each other in patient population, and, hence, it is important to know how health-care providers perceivethedifferencesbetweentwoclassesofthedrugs.Aimsand
Objective:Toanalyzethebeliefs,perceptions,andattitudesof health-care providers in a tertiary-care hospital toward generic and original drugs.
Materials and Methods: This is a descriptive, cross-sectional, questionnaire-based study conducted among 200 students and faculty in a tertiary-care hospital in western India. Thequestionnairemainlydealtwithperceptions,attitudes,andbeliefsofdoctorstowardgenericdrugsincomparisonwithoriginal drugs. The results were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Result: Of 200 participants, 62% supported generic substitution for originaldrugsinmostcases,60(30%)supportedgenericsubstitutionsfororiginaldrugsinallcaseswheregenericswereavailable, and 16 (8%) did not support generic substitution for original drugs. One hundred and seventeen (58.5%) participants perceived that there was significant difference between price of generic and original brand drugs. Although 56% participants believed that generic drugs are as effective as originals, 56% participants also mentioned that they have experienced difference in the quality of genericdrugsagainstoriginalbranddrugs.Conclusion:Thisstudyfoundagapbetweenknowledgescoreandgenericprescription practices, indicatingthat trainingprograms for health-care providersin India to improve their knowledge about generic drugs may be necessary.