Evaluation of the knowledge and perception of the Lebanese physicians toward generics and barriers to their prescription: A cross-sectional survey

Generic substitutions practice is increasingly encouraged by health authorities. The use of cheaper generic drugs is often promoted as a measure to reduce the health care expenditure on pharmaceutical products, and save money to patients as well as governments. The current study aimed to explore the knowledge, perception, and attitude of physicians toward generic medicines in Lebanon and potential barriers to generic use and finally their confidence in the Lebanese pharmacist in the whole healthcare sector. A random sample of 385 physicians was recruited from different regions across Lebanon either by visiting their private clinics or in different hospitals. Among the respondents, 115 (29.9%) reported that they prefer to prescribe generic medicines over the innovator product and 258 (68.3%) reported that a generic medicine has the same therapeutic effect as the brand medicine. However, 181 (47.9%) respondents reported that a generic medicine should have the same active ingredient as the branded medicine and 357 (94.4%) reported that they do not have same excipients. When asked about their trust in the pharmacist in the health care system, almost 229 (59.5%) of respondents reported distrust. The majority of the physicians who participated in this survey indicated a low generic medicine prescription rate. They preferred to use and prescribe brand medicines. This phenomenon was observed in all of the age groups and was independent of their year, their place of graduation and experience but directly depends on the type of certificate.