Generic drugs in the ambulatory environment: know how to decide
Keywords:
Generic drugs, prescribing, frequency, knowledge, attitudesAbstract
Aims: Relate knowledge and frequency of prescribing generic drugs.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out, using a
convenience sample of 111 physicians and residents of Internal
Medicine, working in hospitals in Lisbon, whose clinical activities
included external consultations and/or emergency units.
Results: The response rate was 79%. The majority of the physicians (90.2%) say they prescribe generic drugs but less than
half (45%) of these authorize substitution. It seems there is no
relation between knowledge and prescription habits. The lack of
confidence in the quality of generic drugs was the biggest obstacle concerning generic prescription.
Conclusions: The data collected suggests that knowledge is not
the only factor that influences prescribing habits. Future educational activities to increase knowledge about generic drugs should
aim at the quality of the prescribing habits and not only attempt to increase the pharmaceutical market of generic drugs per se.
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