Why people refuse generic substitution: a population survey of public opinion on generic substitution in Finland

Heikkilä, Reeta; Mäntyselkä, Pekka; Ahonen, Riitta

doi:10.2165/11209270-000000000-00000

Cited by 5 publications

(23 citation statements)

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“…Furthermore, the price corridor is in force 3 months at a time, which can make it easier to predict needed stocks in each quarter than it would be if the price corridor were to change, for example, every month. Although occasionally there have been availability problems with single pharmaceutical products, patients have not encountered outstanding availability problems …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Finnish people, including pharmacy customers, consider GS to be a good reform . However, there were many patients who were unsure about their opinion.…”

Section: Generic Substitution In Finlandmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Savings and recommendations by pharmacists were the main reasons for accepting GS . The main reasons for refusing GS were that they were satisfied with their current medicine and that the decision on a pharmaceutical product had been made in cooperation with a physician . Elderly persons, women, and regular and heavy users of medicines were most likely to refuse substitution .…”

Section: Generic Substitution In Finlandmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Elderly persons, women, and regular and heavy users of medicines were most likely to refuse substitution . Most of the patients who had refused substitution were also unwilling to accept it in the future . Most patients held the opinion that cheaper medicines are effective and that GS does not cause any risk to drug safety .…”

Section: Generic Substitution In Finlandmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In addition, studies of GS have been limited to some particular perspective. For example, several studies in different countries have investigated pharmacists' and patients' opinions regarding GS and the implementation of GS in practice . Some studies on physicians' attitudes and experiences with GS are also available; for example, in Finland, Denmark and Sweden .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Generic substitution in Finland: lessons learned during 2003-2008

Timonen

Heikkilä

Ahonen

2013

Journal of Pharmaceutical Health Services Research

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Objectives Obligatory generic substitution (GS) was introduced in Finland in 2003 with the aim of containing medicine costs. In this article The materialized impacts of GS are compared with the impacts that were anticipated before GS was introduced. The implementation of GS in Finland is described from the perspectives of generated savings, patients, physicians and the pharmaceutical distribution chain during the years [2003][2004][2005][2006][2007][2008]. Methods The studies in this research project were done between 2003 and 2008. Data were collected by means of questionnaires, interviews and register-based studies. Data from the Social Insurance Institution of Finland regarding GS are also included in this article. Key findings Obligatory GS has been a successful pharmaceutical policy reform in Finland, and it has been quite effectively implemented in practice. GS has generated significant savings in the cost of medicines through substitution and price competition. Finnish patients and physicians have accepted it. GS has also had many anticipated impacts on the parties involved in the pharmaceutical distribution chain. However, some of the anticipated effects, such as medicine availability problems, have not materialized. Conclusions Implementation of pharmaceutical policy reforms should always be evaluated from different perspectives and at the beginning of the reform and several years after it has been introduced.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Finnish people, including pharmacy customers, consider GS to be a good reform . However, there were many patients who were unsure about their opinion.…”

Section: Generic Substitution In Finlandmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Generic Substitution In Finlandmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Generic Substitution In Finlandmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Generic substitution in Finland: lessons learned during 2003-2008

Timonen

Heikkilä

Ahonen

2013

Journal of Pharmaceutical Health Services Research

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Choice of mandatory prescribed drugs in Portugal: a consumers’ perspective

Ferreira

Barbosa

2017

IJPHM

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Purpose This paper aims to contribute to the understanding of what influences consumers’ choice of mandatory prescribed drugs, by looking with more detail to the substitution of branded drugs by generics. Specifically, this research looks at three factors that can influence this decision, namely, participative decision-making, perceived risk and price consciousness, within the recent changes introduced in the Portuguese pharmaceutical market by new legislation. Design/methodology/approach A cross-sectional study was conducted, using a self-administered questionnaire, to survey a sample of consumers/patients that visited a doctor and were prescribed some kind of drug. Data were treated using factor analysis for dimensionality reduction purposes and regression analysis to test the main hypothesis. Findings The results show that participative decision-making has no impact on purchase decision of generics, while perceived risk and price consciousness show a predictive power regarding purchase intention of generic drugs. Research limitations/implications Although the results are only applicable to the Portuguese context, it draws important conclusions regarding consumers’ behaviour when choosing between branded and generic drugs. Practical implications Knowing what influences consumers’ choices of generic drugs contributes to tune marketing strategies and actions. For public institutions, this paper offers insights on how to adapt public policies. Originality/value This paper is valuable because it is the first to look at the Portuguese pharmaceutical market from a consumer behaviour perspective since new legislation was set up.

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Medication safety risks to be managed in national implementation of automatic substitution of biological medicines: a qualitative study

et al. 2019

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ObjectivesTo explore relevant Finnish stakeholders’ perceptions on the automatic substitution of biological medicines with particular focus on medication safety and issues that need to be considered to create an appropriate model for automatic biological product substitution.DesignQualitative interview study.MethodsData were collected in semistructured individual (n=17), pair (n=7) and group (n=8) interviews (32 interviews, 62 participants) in 2018. Participants represented a wide range of stakeholders involved in the pharmacotherapy process: community pharmacists (n=8 interviews), authorities (n=7), prescribers (n=7), pharmaceutical industry and wholesalers (n=6), patients/customers (n=2), hospital pharmacists (n=1) and nurses (n=1). Inductive content analysis was performed.ResultsBenefits of automatic substitution were identified as cost savings, more patients receiving biological treatments and enhanced continuity of treatment. Six major risk categories were identified: (1) the patient’s medication is interrupted or complicated temporarily or permanently, (2) the patient uses two products with the same active substance, (3) the traceability of the product is compromised, (4) the patient cannot get into healthcare in case of problems, (5) the patient does not receive substitution-related advice from a pharmacy and (6) the patient is distracted by the support material he/she receives. Several risk mitigation measures were commonly mentioned: medication and device counselling by pharmacists (n=23), infrequent substitution interval (n=15) and better knowledge on biosimilars among healthcare providers (n=13).ConclusionAutomatic substitution of biologics is associated with risks that should be prospectively managed before implementing the procedure. The substitution also introduces new tasks and communication needs to those involved in actual medication use process, particularly to community pharmacists who will be responsible for substitution and counselling the patients.

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Why people refuse generic substitution: a population survey of public opinion on generic substitution in Finland

Cited by 5 publications

References 0 publications

Generic substitution in Finland: lessons learned during 2003-2008

Generic substitution in Finland: lessons learned during 2003-2008

Choice of mandatory prescribed drugs in Portugal: a consumers’ perspective

Medication safety risks to be managed in national implementation of automatic substitution of biological medicines: a qualitative study

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