Abstract

A Cross-Sectional Online Survey on Perception of Indians on Branded and Generic Drugs

Since ancient times, humans are using medicinal herbs which have gone through several emendations and come out as a modern system of medicine. In the field of medicine, the fundamental aspect lies in two approaches, one is Generic-drug and another is Branded or patent drug. This study aims to evaluate and compare knowledge, attitude, and perception of generic drugs and branded drugs in pharmacist and non-pharmacist people comprising both genders and age groups between 18-50 years. The study type involves an online, cross-sectional and questionnairebased study. The collected data were analyzed concerning the information provided by the subjects according to the set of questionnaires. Questionnaires based on online cross-sectional studies have been done with 150 participants to study and evaluate the perception of the society about the generic and branded drug. About 96.4% of people had proper knowledge and concept of generic-drug. It was known to 50% of people that generic medicines are safe as branded medicine and the availability of generic medicines in medical stores. Moreover, 60.7% of people switched from branded to generic on the advice of a doctor and 67.9% revealed their preference for generic drugs. A good percentage of people knew generic medicines. They showed a good attitude about the safety, efficacy, and quality of generic medicines and the majority of the respondents said that they prescribe generic drugs. The belief in generic drugs of the respondents will make significant changes in the larger use of generic drugs which may lead to cutting off the expenses of the health care system.

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