Background: Generic substitution of branded pharmaceuticals is a widely adopted tool among payers to achieve cost savings. The adoption and safe use of generics among consumers is predicated upon their knowledge of and attitudes toward these products.
Objectives: The aims of this study were to assess patients' attitudes towards generic drugs and their experience with using generics, identify factors associated with differences in attitudes and/or experience, and discern the rate of generic substitution in Slovakia.
Methods: Two thousand questionnaires were distributed to patients via pharmacies throughout Slovakia by eleven pharmaceutical companies representing GENAS (the Slovak Generic Association). Responses were received from 1,777 persons (88.85% response rate). Demographic information of respondents was also acquired.
Results: Only 33.8% (600/1773) of respondents care to know about the product which they are using. Over one half (61.1%, 1084/1774) of respondents indicated no distrust in using generics, with many of them indicating a preference for a product with a lower co-payment.
Conclusion: About 1/3 of patients care to know whether they are using generic or branded pharmaceuticals. If there is a lack of information about generics, this could inhibit the use of generics by patients and discern a rate of generic substitution (Tab. 3, Fig. 1, Ref. 18).