How do practitioners evaluate the newly introduced system of substituting prescriptions?

In 1997 a new prescription system was introduced in the Danish health care system. The pharmacist must now substitute a prescribed drug with a cheaper version, either generic (G-substitution) or original (O-substitution) unless the general practitioner (GP) indicates that substitution is not allowed...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inUgeskrift for læger Vol. 162; no. 45; p. 6070
Main Authors Rubak, S L, Andersen, M L, Mainz, J, Olesgaard, P, Lauritzen, T
Format Journal Article
LanguageDanish
Published Denmark 06.11.2000
Subjects
Adult
Denmark
Drug Costs
Drug Prescriptions
Drugs, Generic
Female
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Physicians - psychology
Surveys and Questionnaires
Task Performance and Analysis
Therapeutic Equivalency
Workload
Denmark
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Summary:In 1997 a new prescription system was introduced in the Danish health care system. The pharmacist must now substitute a prescribed drug with a cheaper version, either generic (G-substitution) or original (O-substitution) unless the general practitioner (GP) indicates that substitution is not allowed. The purpose of this study was to obtain the GPs' views on the system and evaluate the problems related to the system. The study was based on questionnaires to GPs developed via qualitative interviews with the GPs and afterwards pilot tested. Out of 300 GPs the response rate was 80%. The study showed that 61% of the GPs were dissatisfied with the system and thought that it should be removed. There were several reasons for this: the system was incomprehensible, the introduction and information about the system was insufficient and the extra workload was too heavy. All the GPs agreed that analogue substitution (substitution between drugs with the same effect obtained by different means) was medically unjustifiable and should not be introduced.
ISSN:0041-5782
1603-6824