Al-Sharrad, Adheed Khalid Sharrad
(2011)
Generic Medicines : Perceptions Of Physicians, Pharmacists, Consumers, Final Year Medical And Pharmacy Students In Iraq.
PhD thesis, Universiti Sains Malaysia.
Abstract
Generic medicines provide an opportunity for major savings in health care expenditure
to both government and consumers Within this context, no studies have been conducted
in Iraq regarding the perceptions held by physicians, pharmacists, consumers and future
practitioners such as medical and pharmacy students towards the prescribing,
substitution, and use of generic medicines Therefore, the aims of this thesis were to
investigate perceptions and knowledge held by both the healthcare providers and
consumers toward the quality use of generic medicines in Iraq. In order to reach these
aims, qualitative methods were used.
Ten physicians were interviewed. Thematic content analysis of the interviews identified
seven major themes: medicine prescribing practices, knowledge of therapeutic
equivalency of generic medicines, patients’ acceptance of generic medicines, counterfeit
medicines, source of information on medicines and the influence of drug advertising on
the choice of medicine, brand substitution practices by community pharmacists, and
strategies to improve the usefulness of generic medicines.
A total of ten pharmacists were also interviewed. Five major themes emerged: generic
medicines substitution practices, knowledge about generic medication, quality and safety
of generic medicines, patient education by pharmacists regarding generic medicines and
strategies to improve generic medicine utility.
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