Perception of Generic Drugs Among Pharmacists in Poland: The Role of Sociodemographic Factors in Shaping Professional Attitudes and Practices.

backgroundPharmacists' perceptions and practices shape the real-world uptake of generic medicines. From a health-economics perspective, wider generic substitution reduces patient out-of-pocket spending and creates headroom in payer budgets for high-value interventions. We assessed attitudes toward the efficacy, safety, and use of generics and examined sociodemographic correlates among Polish pharmacists.

methodsAnalytical cross-sectional survey of licensed pharmacists in Poland was used (June-August 2025). The questionnaire covered reasons for recommending generics in long-term and single-use therapy; doubts about efficacy; views on bioequivalence testing; patient-reported experiences; and Likert-scale opinions on innovation, safety, efficacy, access, and payer savings. Associations were tested with χ

resultsOf 342 respondents (67.5% women; 74.9% community pharmacists), cost was the leading reason to recommend generics in long-term therapy (91.0%), followed by efficacy (53.0%) and safety (51.5%); for single-use prescriptions, cost remained central (76.2%), with lower emphasis on efficacy (47.5%) and safety (45.0%). Pharmacists who never recommend generics were older and more experienced (

conclusionsPolish pharmacists largely view generics as clinically equivalent and system-enhancing, with cost the dominant driver of recommendation. Targeted education-especially for hospital settings and specialized pharmacists-and attention to patient-reported experiences may further strengthen confidence and appropriate use of generics.