Pharmacists’ Knowledge and Opinions Regarding Generic Drugs: A Survey / 医薬品情報学

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.