ABSTRACT
<b>Objective: </b>In recent years, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare has actively promoted the use of generic drugs. However, implementation of this policy has not progressed smoothly, and generic drug companies suggest that this is because medical staff and patients are not properly informed. We examined pharmacists’ knowledge and opinions concerning generic drugs.<br><b>Methods: </b>We conducteda questionnaire survey to determine community pharmacists’ opinions and understanding with regard to generic drugs.<br><b>Results: </b>About 90% of pharmacists were apprehensive about the use of generic drugs. All pharmacists scored low on factual questions, answering an average of 40 % correctly. The question about the bioequivalence evaluation method in particular was poorly answered. However, pharmacists’ anxiety about using generic drugs was not related to their knowledge.<br><b>Conclusion: </b>Our findings suggest that community pharmacists lack sufficient knowledge about generic drugs. It is therefore necessary to educate them on the use of generic drugs. Also, in order to allay pharmacists’ fears, it is important to improve the comprehensiveness of information concerning generic drugs.
ABSTRACT
<b>Objective</b>: Pharmacists are supplied a great deal of information by pharmaceutical companies, but the information contents are various. Therefore, in this study, we carried out a questionnaire survey to evaluate the information contents that hospital pharmacists and community pharmacists request from pharmaceutical companies as information providers.<br><b>Methods</b>: Marketing specialists conducted questionnaire survey on the information contents thinking hospital pharmacists and community pharmacists were necessary of pharmaceutical services.<br><b>Results</b>: As a result of the questionnaire survey, it became clear that the tendency and the common items of the information contents thinking each of them was necessary, by the difference of the workplace form of the pharmacist. Many hospital pharmacists needed the information about the team medical care mainly. Many community pharmacists needed the information about instruction on the use of drugs and communication between hospital pharmacists and community pharmacists mainly. All pharmacists needed the information such as safety measures.<br><b>Conclusion</b>: It’s preferable that information providers distinguish the information that both hospital pharmacists and community pharmacists need from the information that considered an environmental difference of each workplace, and provide them distinguished for hospital pharmacists and community pharmacists. These results imply that it should lead to achieving optimal use of drugs.