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General practitioners' views on generic medication and substitution
M W Tilyard1, S M Dovey, D Rosenstreich
1Research Unit, University of Otago Medical School, Dunedin.
The New Zealand Medical Journal
|July 11, 1990
Summary
General practitioners express concerns regarding government proposals for pharmacist-led generic substitution. While many prescribe generics, a majority oppose substitution without physician approval due to identified patient problems.
Area of Science:
- Pharmacology
- Health Policy
- General Practice
Background:
- Government proposals suggest allowing pharmacists to substitute generic medications.
- This has raised concerns among general practitioners (GPs) and patients.
- Generic substitution involves replacing a prescribed brand-name drug with a generic equivalent.
Purpose of the Study:
- To survey general practitioners' views on generic medication prescribing and substitution.
- To understand GP concerns regarding patient safety and autonomy in generic substitution.
- To gather data on problems GPs associate with generic medication use.
Main Methods:
- A survey was distributed to 200 general practitioners.
- 182 completed questionnaires were analyzed.
- Data included prescribing habits, opinions on substitution, and reported adverse events.
Main Results:
- 67% of responding GPs actively prescribe generic medications.
- 52% of GPs oppose generic substitution without their knowledge or approval.
- 85 cases of problems associated with generic medications were reported by 50 doctors.
Conclusions:
- A significant portion of GPs actively use generic medications.
- There is considerable opposition among GPs to unsupervised generic substitution.
- Concerns exist regarding potential patient issues arising from generic medication use.