Demand-side policies to encourage the use of generic medicines: an overview

Abstract

Demand-side policies to encourage the use of generic medicines are important to increase their use. A plethora of different demand-side policies has already been initiated by European governments, thereby targeting physicians, pharmacists and patients. This review aims to give an overview of the different demand-side policies which governments have at their disposal and to evaluate their impact on the use of generic medicines. Positive knowledge and perceptions of physicians, pharmacists and patients of generic medicines are necessary prerequisites to increase the use of generic medicines and governments should initiate policies to achieve this. These policies should be combined with policies to increase their financial responsibility to the healthcare system and policies to facilitate the prescribing of generic medicines.

Keywords::

• demand-side policies
• electronic prescribing
• generic medicines
• generic substitution
• incentives
• patients
• perceptions
• pharmacists
• physicians

Financial & competing interests disclosure

S Simoens holds the EGA Chair ‘European policy towards generic medicines’. The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, or royalties.

No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.

Notes

CAPI: Contrat d’Amelioration des Pratiques Individuelles; GPs: General practitioners; INN: International Nonproprietary Name; QCP: Quality circles for pharmacotherapy.