Original ResearchEvaluating pharmacists’ views, knowledge, and perception regarding generic medicines in New Zealand
Section snippets
New Zealand’s health care system
Medicines play a critical role in the health of New Zealanders, with 7 out of 10 New Zealanders using medicines.1 New Zealand has a publicly funded health care system, with government funding accounting for 78% of health care cost.2 The Pharmaceutical Management Agency of New Zealand (PHARMAC) is responsible for managing the pharmaceutical subsidy expenditure, particularly for pharmaceuticals accessed in primary care.2, 3, 4 New Zealand has been successful in containing medicine costs because
Study design
A cross-sectional survey using a postal questionnaire was conducted across New Zealand between 22nd June 2009 and 20th July 2009. Survey research techniques have been widely used in the past to identify the views, beliefs, and attitudes of pharmacists on pharmacy-related issues. The advantages of quantitative research on a random sample of the population of interest are that it allows hypothesis testing that the generalizations can be made to the total population.41
Questionnaire development
Electronic databases Embase,
Results
Out of 625 pharmacists, 360 pharmacists responded to the questionnaire, a response rate of 58%.
Discussion
The pharmacists' demographics and other data in our study are very similar to the data from another New Zealand study44 and from the Pharmacy Council of New Zealand.45 In our study the males accounted for 60% while females were 40%. Scahill et al found that in his study44 37% were males and 63% were females while the data from Pharmacy Council of NZ shows that among registered pharmacists in NZ 58% pharmacists are female.45 Similarities were also observed in the age range. In our study 47% of
Conclusion
Many pharmacists were in favor of a greater number of subsidized brands being made available for consumer choice, and consumer’s preference and stock availability were identified as key factors influencing generic substitution. Pharmacist’s perceptions toward generics are being primarily driven by PHARMACs’ policies and consumer experiences, and by the current laws regarding brand substitution. Community pharmacists believed brand substitution reduces their pharmacies profitability,
Acknowledgments
We would like to say thank you to Ms. Charon Lessing and Mr. Shane Scahill for reviewing the manuscript and for their helpful comments. We would also like to say thank you to Ms.Yanwei Pan.
References (57)
The bioequivalence and therapeutic efficacy of generic versus brand-name psychoactive drugs
Clin Ther
(2003)- et al.
Pharmaceutical brand substitution in Australia—are there multiple switches per prescription?
Aust N Z J Public Health
(2007) - et al.
Physician and pharmacist perceptions of generic drugs
Ind Market Manag
(1979) - et al.
Physicians individual and organizational views on generic medications
J Am Pharm Assoc
(2001) Medicines New Zealand: Contributing to Good Health Outcomes for All New Zealanders
(2007)- et al.
Australia and New Zealand, Health Systems of International Encyclopedia of Public Health
(2008) Information Sheets—Introduction to PHARMAC
(2009 Jul 27)- et al.
PHARMAC Lecture—Professional Pharmacy Studies
(May 5, 2009) - et al.
Prescription drug subsidies in Australia and New Zealand
Aust Prescr
(2010) - et al.
Influencing drug prices through formulary-based policies: lessons from New Zealand
Healthc Policy
(2007)
Review of Access to High-Cost, Highly-Specialised Medicines in New Zealand. Report Presented to Minister of Health
Health Minister confirms new medicines spending, 30th July 2009
Pharmaceutical Management Agency Annual Review, New Zealand Government
Do generics offer significant savings to the UK National Health Service?
Curr Med Res Opin
Encouraging the use of generic medicines: implications for transition economies
Croat Med J
Generic medicines, basic notions: European Generic Medicines Association
IMS health data 2003
Association of British Pharmaceutical Industry
Generic medicines in Australia: business dynamics and recent policy reform
South Med Rev
Matching US Generic Drug Use Would Save Canada $1.6-Billion, Toronto, April 6, 2010
How New Zealand has contained expenditures on drugs
BMJ
Changing to a generic drug. BPac NZ
Minutes of the PHARMAC Consumer Advisory Committee (CAC) Meeting, Friday 13 July 2007
Generic medicines: dealing with multiple brands. National Prescribing Service Newsletter. Australia
An evaluation of consumers’ knowledge, perceptions and attitudes regarding generic medicines in Auckland
Why you should prescribe generically
Best Pract Gen
Information Sheets—The Truth About Generic Medicines
Cited by (71)
Antimicrobial activity and pathogen mutation prevention of originator and generics of cefepime, linezolid and piperacillin/tazobactam against clinical isolates of Staphylococcus aureus
2023, Journal of Global Antimicrobial ResistanceOral emergency contraception practices of community pharmacies: a mystery caller study in the capital of Germany, Berlin
2023, Journal of Pharmaceutical Policy and PracticeGeneric Substitutions and Therapeutic Interchanges in Hospital Pharmacies: A Qualitative Study from Western Saudi Arabia
2023, Healthcare (Switzerland)A leap towards enforcing medicines prescribing by generic names in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs): pitfalls, limitations, and recommendations for local drug regulatory agencies
2022, Journal of Pharmaceutical Policy and Practice