SynthesisApplied health economics and health policy2015
A Systematic Review of Physicians' and Pharmacists' Perspectives on Generic Drug Use: What are the Global Challenges?
Synthesis in Applied health economics and health policy, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 43 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
43 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Facilitators and barriers to generic and biosimilar medications in the Middle East and North Africa: insights from physicians and pharmacists-a systematic review.European journal of clinical pharmacology · 2025Pooled it
- Pooled it
- What Do Users of Generic Medicines Think of Them? A Systematic Review of Consumers' and Patients' Perceptions of, and Experiences with, Generic Medicines.The patient · 2016Pooled it
- Generic-reference and generic-generic bioequivalence of forty-two, randomly-selected, on-market generic products of fourteen immediate-release oral drugs.BMC pharmacology & toxicology · 2017Trial
- Effect of Pharmacist-Led Educational Intervention on Switching to Generic Medicine Among Patients Using Brand-Name Medicines in Japan.Pharmacy (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Breaking brand: an observational study on pharmacy-hospital-patient relationships and generic drug utilisation in Japan.BMJ open · 2025Observational
- International comparison of generic competition, prices, and usage trends: South Korea and G20 countries.Frontiers in public health · 2025Article
- Medicine affordability and access in India: lessons from generic-branded price variation under the Jan Aushadhi Scheme.Frontiers in public health · 2025Observational
- Knowledge and Perception of Consumers Towards Generic Medicines in Saudi Arabia: A Prospective Cross-Sectional Survey.Patient preference and adherence · 2025Article
- Article
- Impact and implications of national centralized drug procurement in China.International journal of clinical pharmacy · 2024Article
- Generic dispensing rates for substitutable drugs prescribed by general practitioners compared with other private ambulatory specialists: A study based on a French national reimbursement database.The European journal of general practice · 2024Article
- Influencing Factors of Generic Prescribing Behavior of Physicians: A Structural Equation Model Based on the Theory of Planned Behavior.Risk management and healthcare policy · 2024Article
- Attitudes towards the switching of anti-epileptic medications in pharmacies: the patients' perspective.Postepy psychiatrii neurologii · 2023Article
- Improving the availability of prescription drugs in Lebanon: a critical analysis of alternative policy options.Health research policy and systems · 2022Article
- Factors facilitating and hindering counselling about generic substitution and a reference price system in community pharmacies - a survey among Finnish dispensers.BMC health services research · 2022Article
- A nationwide survey exploring physicians' and pharmacists' knowledge, awareness and perceptions regarding generic medicines in China.BMC health services research · 2022Article
- Barriers to generic antiseizure medication use: Results of a global survey by the International League Against Epilepsy Generic Substitution Task Force.Epilepsia open · 2022Article
- A nursing mentoring programme on non-pharmacological interventions against BPSD: Effectiveness and use of antipsychotics-A retrospective, before-after study.Nursing open · 2022Article
- Generic switching: Do future physicians in Jordan have enough knowledge and a positive attitude?Frontiers in pharmacology · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND
objectivesGeneric substitution has been introduced in most countries in order to reduce costs and improve access to drugs. However, regulations and the generic drugs available vary between countries. It is the prescriber or dispenser of the drug who is the final decision maker. Nevertheless, physicians' and pharmacists' perceptions of generic drug use are not well documented to date. This study presents a systematic review of physicians' and pharmacists' perspectives on generic drug use worldwide.
methodsA systematic literature search was performed to retrieve all articles published between 2002 and 2012 regarding physicians' and/or pharmacists' experiences with generic drugs and generic substitution.
resultsOf 1322 publications initially identified, 24 were eligible for inclusion. Overall, the studies revealed that physicians and pharmacists were aware of the cost-saving function of generic drugs and their role in improving global access to drugs. Nevertheless, marked differences were observed between countries when studying physicians' and pharmacists' perceptions of the available generic drugs. In less mature healthcare systems, large variations regarding, for example, control routines, bioequivalence requirements, and manufacturer standards were reported. A lack of reliable information and mistrust in the efficacy and quality were also mentioned by these participants. In the most developed healthcare systems, the participants trusted the quality of the generic drugs and did not hesitate to offer them to all patients regardless of socioeconomic status. In general, pharmacists seemed to have better knowledge of the concept of bioequivalence and generic drug aspects than physicians.
conclusionsThe present study indicates that physicians and pharmacists are aware of the role of generic drugs in the improvement of global access to drugs. However, there are marked differences regarding how these health professionals view the quality of generic drugs depending on the maturity of their country's healthcare system. This can be attributed to the fact that developed healthcare systems have more reliable public control routines for drugs in general as well as better bioequivalence requirements concerning generics in particular.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.