Opinion of patients seeking primary care regarding prescription of generic drugs: A cross-sectional study.

Abstract

Generic drugs are low-cost alternatives to branded drugs. The government of India is encouraging physicians to prescribe the generics to decrease out-of-pocket expenditure of health care. Looking at India's low-prescription on generic drugs, it is crucial to analyze the factors responsible for it. A patient's unawareness may be an important factor; hence, it should be evaluated systematically. This study was designed with the aim of assessing knowledge and perception of generics among patients visiting the outpatient department of primary care physicians at the Patan city of Gujarat. A trained research associate visited the OPDs of various general practitioners to collect the data. A prevalidated questionnaire was administered to these patients. The data was analyzed with the help of statistical software. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data. Among 345 patients, only 33.6% reportedly heard about generics. Of these only a few patients (<13%) had used the generic drugs in past. The majority (>60%) believed that generics are safe. Those who were not willing to take generics reported efficacy as the major concern. Out of various factors that may affect knowledge of generic drugs, young age (OR = 5.3) and education (Primary (OR = 8.01), Secondary (OR = 6.19), and Higher secondary (OR = 3.07) were statistically significant. Awareness about the generic drugs was low among the patients visiting the primary care physician. The young age and primary and secondary education levels were significantly associated with the awareness regarding generics.