BackgroundGeneric substitution in several countries has become a common practice. Besides, it is considered as a major cost minimizing strategy meant to contain pharmaceutical expenditure without compromising healthcare quality. However, the safety and quality issues of generic products are of top concerns of general practitioners and health work professionals. This study aimed to investigate community pharmacist’s knowledge, attitudes and practices toward generic medicines in Palestine.MethodsThis study was a cross-sectional observational study employing a self-administered questionnaire. The questionnaire was of four main sections: demographic and practice details of the participants, knowledge, attitudes and the influencing factors related to selection and dispensing of generic medicines. A convenience sampling technique was implemented in this study in which the data collection form was distributed in West Bank- Palestine among a set of practicing pharmacists. Mann-Whitney-U or Kruskal-Wallis tests were used to comparison of different issues as appropriate. P-values of <0.05 were considered significant.ResultsA total of 302 community pharmacists were interviewed, slightly more than half were males (52.3%). The mean knowledge score of participants regarding generic medicines was (5.91 ± 1.27) where the highest score was 8 of 10. Knowledge score was not significantly influenced by any of the socio-demographic characteristics. Our data showed that most of included pharmacists in the study (95.4%) agreed that health authorities should implement bioequivalence policies prior to marketing approval of generics, while 87.4% of participants agreed that they should be given the right to substitute generics and the majority (62.3%) support generic substitution for brand name drugs in all cases when a generic is available The main two factors affect pharmacists’ selection and dispensing of generic medicines are personal faith in the product (86.1%) and cost effectiveness of generic medicines (84.1%).ConclusionsGeneric medicines substitution among pharmacists is widespread and prevalent. Our data found that participant pharmacists in Palestine had basic knowledge with regards to generic medicine. However, their knowledge score pertaining the technical and regulatory aspects of bioequivalence and pharmacokinetic parameters in particular was insufficient.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s12913-017-2813-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Background Generic substitution of medicines has become common practice in many countries and is considered to be a key method to contain pharmaceutical expenditure without compromising health-care quality. However, the safety and quality of generic products are of concern to health professionals. This study aimed to investigate community pharmacists' knowledge, attitudes, and practices in relation to generic medicines in Palestine.Methods A cross-sectional observational study was carried out using a convenience sampling technique to distribute a data collection form to practicing pharmacists in the West Bank. In Palestine, the majority of pharmacists work in private retail pharmacies called community pharmacies. Other forms of professional pharmacy in Palestine include pharmacists in industry, in the regulatory governmental sector, and in hospitals and other clinical settings. Here, a sample of licensed community pharmacists completed the questionnaire, which consisted of four main sections: demographic and practice details of the participants, and their knowledge of, attitudes towards, and factors influencing their selection and dispensing of generic medicines. The Mann-Whitney U test or Kruskal-Wallis test were used, as appropriate. A p value of less than 0•05 was considered significant.Findings A total of 302 community pharmacists were interviewed, of whom 52% (157 out of 302) were male. The participants' mean knowledge score in relation to generic medicines was 5•91 (SD 1•27), and the highest score was 8 out of 10 (the maximum possible score was 10). Knowledge score was not significantly associated with any of the sociodemographic characteristics. Most pharmacists in the study (87%; 264 out of 302) agreed that they should be given the right to substitute with generic medicines, and the majority (62%; 188 out of 302) supported generic substitution for brand name drugs in all situations in which a generic medicine is available. The main two factors affecting pharmacists' selection and dispensing of generic medicines were personal faith in the product (86%; 260 of 302) and cost effectiveness of generic medicines (84%; 269 of 302).Interpretation Participant community pharmacists in Palestine had basic knowledge with regard to generic medicines. In particular, their knowledge score pertaining to the technical and regulatory aspects of bioequivalence and pharmacokinetic parameters was insufficient. These data suggest a demand for interventions to develop pharmacists' awareness of these important matters underlying the safety, quality, and efficacy of generic medicines. Funding None. ContributorsNS conceived the idea for the study, led study design and data collection, conducted the statistical analyses, interpreted the data, and drafted the Abstract. WS interpreted the data and drafted the Abstract. TA, RQ, HJ, MS, and LS collected the data, entered the data into SPSS, and contributed to the statistical analyses. Declaration of interestsWe declare no competing interests.