Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, University of Peloponnese , Corinth , Greece.
Health Policy Institute , Athens , Greece.
Expert Rev Pharmacoecon Outcomes Res. 2019 Oct;19(5):569-574. doi: 10.1080/14737167.2019.1571412. Epub 2019 Jan 24.
: The economic crisis in Greece has triggered an extensive public debate about the use of generic drugs (generics). Despite their cost-saving potential, generic market penetration remains very low. This raises questions on awareness of, perception on and preference for generics by health-care professionals and patients. This is a descriptive study on the level of knowledge and attitudes towards generics of final year pharmacy school students in Greece. : An electronic questionnaire was distributed to 173 senior pharmacy school students in three Universities in Greece. Responses were submitted electronically. : The majority of students knew that generics contain the same active ingredient as the originator products and are cheaper. Students were somehow concerned with safety and efficacy of generics. The majority of students agreed that pharmacists should probably recommend the use of generics, and indicated that prescribing and dispensing practices would largely depend on the profit margin. Despite more than half of the students expressing a positive attitude towards generics, they were inadequately educated on their features. : It is critical to improve knowledge of and preference for generics amongst health-care professionals from early on if to build the trust required to increase generic market penetration and achieve measurable savings in pharmaceutical expenditure.
: 希腊的经济危机引发了一场关于使用仿制药（generic drugs）的广泛公众讨论。尽管仿制药具有节省成本的潜力，但它们的市场渗透率仍然非常低。这引发了人们对医疗保健专业人员和患者对仿制药的认识、看法和偏好的质疑。这是一项关于希腊药学专业最后一年学生对仿制药认知和态度水平的描述性研究。 : 在希腊的三所大学向 173 名药学专业高年级学生发放了电子问卷。学生们通过电子方式提交了回复。 : 大多数学生知道仿制药含有与原研产品相同的活性成分，而且价格更便宜。学生们对仿制药的安全性和疗效有些担忧。大多数学生同意药剂师应该推荐使用仿制药，并表示处方和配药的做法在很大程度上取决于利润率。尽管超过一半的学生对仿制药持积极态度，但他们对其特点的了解不足。 : 如果要建立增加仿制药市场渗透率和实现药品支出可衡量节省所需的信任，那么从早期开始，就必须提高医疗保健专业人员对仿制药的认识和偏好。
