Consumers’ perception of generic substitution in Iran

Background The growth of pharmaceutical expenditure and patients’ out of pocket has motivated policy makers to encourage patients to substitution of brands medicines with their generic alternatives called generic substitution. Objectives As the patients are final decision makers to accept generic substitution, the aim of this study is to evaluate the patient perception about generic medicines and underlying factors which can promote the generic acceptance. Setting The study was done in community pharmacies in Tehran, the capital city of Iran. Method A cross-sectional descriptive study inviting people purchasing their drug at community pharmacies were per-formed using a self-administrated anonymous questionnaire (N=1309). Main outcomes measures besides the demographic section, 16 items of developed questionnaire were categorized to five main factors including: patients’ perception about efficiency, safety and cost of generic medicines, patient trust on physicians and pharmacists’ advice. Results Findings of completed questionnaires showed among the aforementioned factors the physician has the first priority to encourage patients to use of generics medicines which followed respectively by pharmacist’s role, cost of medicines, efficacy, and safety concerns. Conclusion In conclusion, the trust of Iranian’s society on the physicians and pharmacists advice would create a credible opportunity to reduce pharmaceutical expenditures as well as patients’ out of pocket by promotion of generic substitution.