OBJECTIVE To investigate the views of pharmacists in North-Central Nigeria on generic medicines and generic substitution practices. SUBJECTS AND METHOD A cross-sectional survey was conducted in 4 cities in North-Central Nigeria from April to June 2012 among 330 pharmacists in hospital and community pharmacy settings, recruited through a convenience sampling strategy. Data were collected using...

INTRODUCTION In an attempt to benefit from the cost-savings associated with use of generic medicines, in June 2013 Ireland introduced generic substitution and reference pricing for the first time. However, perceptions of Irish patients towards generic medicines have not been published previously. Therefore, the objective of this study was to assess how generic medicines were perceived amongst p...

Introduction There are persistent gaps in access to affordable medicines. The WHO Model List of Essential Medicines (EML) includes medicines considered necessary for functional health systems. Methods A generic price estimation formula was developed by reviewing published analyses of cost of production for medicines and assuming manufacture in India, which included costs of formulation, packa...

This study used publicly available data to examine the effect of the separation of dispensing and prescribing medicines between pharmacists in pharmacies and doctors in medical institutions (the separation system) and the generic medicine replacement ratio on the cost of various medicines in Japanese prefectures. For Japanese medical institutions, participation in the separation system is optio...

High expenditure and increasing health care costs are prime concerning factors in the health care system globally. In some of the developing countries WHO reported out-of-pocket payments as high as 80% of health care spending.1 At present Pakistan is spending only 1.2% of GDP on pharmaceuticals and despite more than 40000 registered brands in the country2 essential and life-saving drugs are mis...

OBJECTIVES Like many other developing countries, South Africa provides free medicines through its public health care facilities. Recent policies encourage generic substitution in the private sector. This study explored South African consumer perceptions of drug quality and whether these perceptions influenced how people procured and used their medicines. METHODS The study was undertaken in Durb...

Generic drugs have a key role to play in the efficient allocation of financial resources for pharmaceutical medicines. Policies implemented in the countries with a high rate of generic drug use, such as Canada, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the United States, are reviewed, with consideration of the market structures that facilitate strong competition. Savings in the...