Pharmaceutical Benefits, Management division, Health Insurance Review & Assessment Service, 304 Hyoryeong-ro, Seocho-gu, Seoul, 06720, South Korea.
BMC Health Serv Res. 2017 Aug 29;17(1):610. doi: 10.1186/s12913-017-2555-y.
In 2012, a new pharmaceutical policy was introduced in Korea. According to the new policy, off-patent brand-name drugs (original drugs) and generic drugs must be priced the same.
This study aims to investigate the perception and attitude of Korean physicians towards generic drugs before and after the policy reform. Surveys were conducted with registered doctors at the Health Insurance Review Agency (HIRA) twice, in 2011 and 2013, by means of email and HIRA online survey systems.
In the 2011 survey, 82% knew about the bioequivalent (BE) guideline, whereas only 25.7% trusted BE testing results. More than half preferred original drugs to generic drugs because of clinical experience and generic drugs confidence limits. 64.2% pointed out that the Korean generic drugs prices are more expensive than in other counties. In the 2013 survey, 73% preferred original drugs to generic drugs because of believed difference in drug effectiveness. After the pricing policy reform, 35.5% stated that they didn't change their prescribing pattern, whereas 29.7% stated that they began prescribing generic drugs.
The Korean government has revised and strengthen the guideline on BE test to improve the quality and confidence of generic drugs. Although generic drugs prescription was increased slightly more than the 2011 survey, 2013 survey showed that around 70% of respondents still preferred original drugs.
2012 年，韩国出台了一项新的医药政策。根据该政策，专利过期的品牌药（原研药）和仿制药必须定价相同。
本研究旨在调查韩国医生在政策改革前后对仿制药的认知和态度。通过电子邮件和 HIRA 在线调查系统，在 2011 年和 2013 年两次向健康保险审查与评估机构（HIRA）的注册医生进行了调查。
在 2011 年的调查中，82%的医生了解生物等效性（BE）指南，但只有 25.7%的医生信任 BE 检测结果。超过一半的医生更喜欢原研药而不是仿制药，因为他们有临床经验和仿制药置信区间。64.2%的医生指出韩国仿制药的价格比其他国家高。在 2013 年的调查中，73%的医生更喜欢原研药而不是仿制药，因为他们认为药物的疗效存在差异。在定价政策改革后，35.5%的医生表示他们没有改变处方模式，而 29.7%的医生表示他们开始开仿制药。
韩国政府已经修订并加强了关于 BE 测试的指南，以提高仿制药的质量和信心。尽管仿制药的处方量略高于 2011 年的调查，但 2013 年的调查显示，约 70%的受访者仍然更喜欢原研药。
