Table 2.
Perception of patients regarding generics
| Items | Number of patients(%) |
|---|---|
| Have you ever heard about generic drugs? (n=345) | |
| Yes | 116 (33.6) |
| No | 229 (66.3) |
| Have you used generics in the last 6 months? (n=116) | |
| Yes | 15 (12.9) |
| No | 100 (86.2) |
| Don’t know | 1 (0.8) |
| Generics are safe (n=116) | |
| Strongly Agree | 3 (2.6) |
| Agree | 68 (58.6) |
| Neutral | 37 (31.9) |
| Disagree | 6 (5.2) |
| Strongly Disagree | 2 (1.7) |
| Generics are as effective as branded drugs (n=110) | |
| Strongly Agree | 1 (0.9) |
| Agree | 65 (59.1) |
| Neutral | 34 (30.9) |
| Disagree | 8 (7.3) |
| Strongly Disagree | 2 (1.8) |
| Can cause more side effects than brand drug (n=106) | |
| Strongly Agree | 2 (1.9) |
| Agree | 16 (15.1) |
| Neutral | 63 (59.4) |
| Disagree | 25 (23.6) |
| Strongly Disagree | 0 (0) |
| Are cheaper than brand drug (n=113) | |
| Strongly Agree | 39 (34.5) |
| Agree | 53 (46.9) |
| Neutral | 16 (14.2) |
| Disagree | 4 (3.5) |
| Strongly Disagree | 1 (0.9) |
| Do you trust Generic Drugs are effective? (n=116) | |
| Yes | 71 (61.2) |
| No | 13 (11.2) |
| No opinion | 32 (27.6) |
| Are you willing to use generics nowadays? (n=114) | |
| Yes | 99 (49.7) |
| No | 74 (50.3) |
| If no, which are the reasons preventing you from using generics (n=14) | |
| I do not know about them | 1 (7.1) |
| My physician does not know about them | 1 (7.1) |
| My pharmacist does not know about them | 0 (0) |
| I do not trust them | 11 (78.6) |
| I had a bad experience in the past | 0 (0) |
| Not available easily | 1 (7.1) |
| Has ever a physician or a pharmacist proposed/recommended you to substitute a branded drug with a generic drug? (n=116) | |
| Yes | 15 (12.9) |
| No | 94 (81.0) |
| I don’t know | 7 (6.0) |
| If yes, have you followed that proposition/recommendation? (n=14) | |
| Yes | 10 (71.4) |
| No | 4 (28.6) |
| Have you used a generic drug, after having used the relevant branded? (n=93) | |
| Yes | 20 (21.5) |
| No | 69 (74.2) |
| I don’t know | 4 (4.3) |
| If yes, were you satisfied with the generic drug? (n=20) | |
| Yes | 18 (90) |
| No | 1 (10) |
| I don’t know | |
| Please indicate the level of agreement with the following statements “I would substitute a branded drug with a generic because (n=42) | |
| My doctor recommends it | 28 (66.7) |
| My pharmacist recommends it | 3 (7.1) |
| Friends/relatives recommend it | 3 (7.1) |
| The generics is cheaper | 8 (19.0) |
Values in parenthesis are percentages