A nationwide study on generic medicines substitution practices of Australian community pharmacists and patient acceptance

Underuse of generic medicines in Portugal: An empirical study on the perceptions and attitudes of patients and pharmacists

“…The issue of patients' attitudes towards generic drug substitution has raised concerns elsewhere and has been analysed in different countries namely in Spain, France, Germany, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Japan and Australia. Some of the main findings are that patients' acceptability of generic substitution depends on the type of illness [10], there is resistance to changing habits particularly among older patients and mothers [11], lower prices are perceived as poorer quality [12], generic and branded medicines are not seen as equivalent [13], magnitude of savings matter to drug substitution acceptability [14,15], experience of generic medicines is positively associated with willingness to accept substitution [16] and patients with chronic conditions have lower substitution acceptability rates [17]. Specifically for Portugal, two studies have concluded that the endorsement of generic medicines was significantly lower for illness labels which were perceived as more serious and that beliefs about efficacy were significantly affected by age and level of education [18,19].…”

Evaluation of patient’s knowledge and perceptions regarding generic medicines – pilot study in Saragossa (Spain)

“…A better knowledge would facilitate a more responsible usage of them. 12,14,18 Education campaigns by the government, health authorities or health professional groups would be the best stakeholders.…”

Consumers and Carers Versus Pharmacy Staff: Do Their Priorities for Australian Pharmacy Services Align?

“…Pharmacy staff need to reduce this knowledge gap; optimising consumers' understanding of generics is likely to promote patient choice, medication safety, and some, if minimal, cost savings for them [49].…”