Knowledge, Attitude And Practice Of Generic Medicine Among Dentists In Ghaziabad City- A Questionnaire Based Study

Abstract

Introduction: Globally, India’s pharmaceutical industry is the third largest one in terms of volume of medicines exported but several essential medicines remain inaccessible within the country especially for the poor due to rising health-care expenses. Generic medicines, which are typically 20-90% less expensive than the branded drugs, provide the same quality, safety, and efficacy as the original brand name product.
Aim: The study aims to access the knowledge, attitude and practice of clinical practitioners and academicians regarding the use of generic medicine.
Methodology: A cross-sectional study was carried out among 368 dentists working as academicians or clinicians in and around Ghaziabad from July to August 2019 using a pre-validated questionnaire. Chi square analysis and independent t test was used to analyze the knowledge, attitude and practice of generic drugs among clinicians and academicians. P≤0.05 was considered statistically significant.
Results: 73.6% of the clinicians as well as 100% academicians agreed that generic medicines were intended to be interchangeably with branded drugs (p = 0.001*). But, 94.4% of the clinicians and 95.3% of the academicians felt that generic drugs are not effective as innovator (p=0.815). Regarding the practice, all of the academicians and only 32% clinicians prescribed the generics to their patients (p=0.001).
Conclusion: Most of the dentists had good knowledge and attitude about generic medicines but there was a meaningful proportion who expressed concerns about them. There is a need of educational interventions to increase the awareness and acceptability of generic medicines.