Exploring factors underlying the attitude of community pharmacists to generic substitution: a nationwide study from Poland

Background Generic uptake will increasingly be promoted by governments in the face of increasing healthcare costs and global economic uncertainties. Objective The purpose of this study was to investigate attitudes towards generic substitution among community pharmacists, with a focus on the perception of the efficacy, knowledge of the generics characteristics, as well as the willingness to recommend generic substitution. Setting Community pharmacies in Poland. Method The survey was conducted in 2013 by telephone interviews with 802 holders of an MSc degree in pharmacy working as community pharmacists. Stratified sampling was implemented to make the study representative in geographic terms. Main outcome measure Pharmacists’ attitudes towards generics drugs. Results The study showed that only 40 % of pharmacists always inform patients about their right to choose a generic substitute. It was also shown that the less time a pharmacist has been practising, the less likely they are to invite consumers to choose between generic and innovator products. The likelihood of informing was not affected by pharmacist’s sex or age, or by pharmacy location or status (chain vs. independent pharmacy) (p > 0.05). Pharmacists varied in their approach to their statutory obligation to inform about a generic; a more or less equal share of respondents were either in favour or against it. Approximately 60 % pharmacists were shown to be familiar with the definition of a generic medicine. Pharmacists with shorter time of practice proved to know more about generics. However, more than 30 % respondents failed to choose the correct statement on generic versus reference medicine dosage. The majority of respondents (67 %) believed there are no differences in efficacy between generics and innovator drugs, whereas 31 % claimed that original brands could be more effective. A significant correlation was demonstrated between the views of pharmacists on the therapeutic efficacy and their willingness to substitute for generics whenever permitted by a physician. Conclusion It is important to address all concerns pharmacists may have over generics, for example by implementing comprehensive awareness-raising campaigns. Also, pharmacotherapy monitoring systems (i.e. provided in a framework of pharmaceutical care) could be considered to identify any safety or quality concerns that may arise. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s11096-015-0227-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.