Knowledge, attitude and practice of generic medicines among doctors in a tertiary care teaching hospital of Tripura, India

Abstract

Background: The assessment of doctors’ perceptions and understanding about generic medicines may help in recognizing possible barriers to greater generic medicine usage. The primary objective of this study was to explore the knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) of doctors toward generic medicines.Methods: A questionnaire based cross-sectional study was carried out in a tertiary-care teaching hospital of Tripura. The questionnaire was designed to assess the KAP about generic medicines. The doctors working in this institute during the study period were included. All data were analysed using statistical software for epidemiology (EPI6). P <0.05 was considered statistically significant.Results: 67.5% doctors agreed to the fact that generic medicines were intended to be interchangeable with a branded drug (p=0.0003). Among the doctors, 95% were aware that generic drug manufacturers need to conduct studies to show bioequivalence between the generic medicine and their branded counterparts (p <0.0001). Majority of the doctors (82.5%) were of the view that generic medicines were as safe as that of branded drugs (p <0.0001). 97.5% of the doctors agreed that importance of generic medicines should be taught in early part of internship. 75% doctors did not think that switching a patient from a brand-name to generic drug may change the outcome of the therapy (p <0.0001). 92.5% doctors said that they prescribe generic medicines (p <0.0001).Conclusion: The study showed that the doctors were well aware of generic medicines and Jan Aushadhi scheme of Govt. of India. It was also observed that efficacy, safety and quality profile of the medicine were the most important factors considered by doctors when they prescribe drugs.

A study on assessment of awareness on generic drugs among doctors in a tertiary care teaching hospital in north India

“…According to the present analysis, good percentage of doctors had knowledge about generic medicines and they had good attitude about the efficacy, safety, and quality of generic medicines; majority of them said that they prescribe generic medicines. These findings are similar to that of Bhattachargee P et al 15 Majority of the participants had knowledge that generic medicines are intended to be interchangeable with a branded drug which is in accordance with finding of Davit BM et al 17 Significantly high number of doctors about 77.5% of the participants were aware that generic drug manufacturers need to conduct bioequivalence studies which is contrary to the finding (63.2%) of Badwaik RT et al 18 Significantly high number of doctors agreed that generic drugs are an important tool for reducing overall health expenditure. Indeed, lower price is the major boon for generic drugs.…”

“…Pre-validated selfadministered questionnaire was used to collect the data from the respondents. 15,16 The purpose of the study was explained and written informed consent was obtained from all the participants before being given the questionnaires. The questionnaire designed for this study comprised of 24 questions related to the KAP of generic medicines and about demographic details of the participants.…”

Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice of Generic Drugs Among Doctors in a Tertiary Care Hospital

“…97.5% of the doctors agreed that the importance of generics should be taught in early part of internship. 92.5% of the participants were of the view that quality testing of generic medicines should be made more vigorous [14]. In the study done by Guptha et al, 89% agreed that there should be training program to increase the awareness regarding generic drugs among doctors and patients [15].…”

Assessment of knowledge, attitude and practice of generic medicines among the interns and post graduate dental students: comparison with medical practitioners

“…These questions were taken from published literature pertaining to Indian set up. [12][13][14][15] The questionnaire comprised of 22 items question related to knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) of generic medicines and about demographics details of participants. The questionnaire contained ten questions assessing knowledge of generic medicine, five questions eliciting participants attitude towards generic medicine, six questions related to practice of generic medicines and one question capturing suggestions to improve generic prescribing in India.…”

“…Gupta et al conducted a study in 2015 and included 73 doctors working at the tertiary care hospital. 13 Bhattacharjee et al conducted similar study in 2017 in tertiary teaching hospital among 120 doctors. 14 Two studies conducted in 2018 included 89 medical practitioners from tertiary care hospital (15) and 217 prescribers comprising interns, residents and the teaching faculty from tertiary hospital.…”