Table 2.
Patients’ Perceptions about Use of Generic Drugs
| Perception of | % (95 % Confidence Interval) | n/N respondents* |
|---|---|---|
| Whether your doctor should prescribe a generic drug for you if one is available | ||
| Always | 45 (42, 49) | 334/740 |
| Usually | 38 (35, 42) | 282/740 |
| Sometimes | 16 (14, 19) | 119/740 |
| Rarely/never | 1 (0.3, 1.6) | 5/740 |
| Safety of prescription drugs on the market for a long time vs. drugs newly on the market | ||
| Safer | 53 (50, 57) | 395/739 |
| Neither more nor less safe | 46 (42, 49) | 338/739 |
| Less safe | 1 (0.4, 1.8) | 6/739 |
| Whether newer drugs are better than older ones | ||
| Always/usually | 18 (15, 20) | 130/740 |
| Sometimes | 80 (77, 83) | 592/740 |
| Rarely/never | 2 (2, 4) | 18/740 |
| Americans’ use of generic drugs | ||
| Use more | 68 (65, 71) | 503/739 |
| Use about the same amount | 27 (24, 31) | 201/739 |
| Use fewer | 5 (3, 7) | 35/739 |
| Preference in taking generic vs brand-name drug | ||
| Prefer a brand-name drug | 37 (34, 41) | 277/740 |
| Don’t prefer one or the other | 35 (32, 39) | 261/740 |
| Prefer a generic drug | 27 (24, 31) | 202/740 |
| How often asked doctor to prescribe a brand-name drug rather than a generic in the last year | ||
| 4 or more times | 10 (8, 12) | 73/737 |
| 2–3 times | 20 (17, 23) | 149/737 |
| 1 time | 15 (13, 18) | 114/737 |
| Never | 54 (51, 58) | 401/737 |
*Denominators vary across questions because some respondents did not complete the entire survey