Why pharmacists propose generic substitution of medication?

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: The Article is bringing up the problem of the exchange of prescribed medicines for the recipe for their counterparts in the context of motivation and the reflectiveness of pharmacists participating in this process.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: 50 questionnaire forms, get from pharmacists working in pharmacies in Lesser Poland province, in which they were asking for motivation for proposing patients the exchange of medicines for equivalents, perception of anxieties of patients in the discussed situation of the exchange of medicines and the awareness, that pharmacists apart from delivering the specific medicinal product additionally are going up the position of the third participant of the therapeutic relation.

RESULTS: Collected data are indicating that, submitting to the proposal the exchange of medicines is a general practice in polled pharmacies. They are most often declared motivations for the exchange of medicines in the equal proportion declared „good of the patient” as well as convincing the pharmacist that the patient is bothered about the minimum price of the medicine. It only recognised the 10% of polled pharmacists that the good of the patient is guaranteed when he receives this medicine which the doctor prescribed exactly.

CONCLUSIONS: Achieved results are pointing indirectly at the significant influence of the promotion of medicines for the forming of the motivation system of pharmacists and to their low awareness, that proposing the exchange of medicines actively are joining in the therapeutic relation.