Buying behavioural pattern of ethical and generic drugs in Western India: an empirical investigation

Abstract

Prescribing makes a considerable impact on health of patients and promotional budgets of manufacturers and yet remains a contentious issue. Prescriptions have been used to study treatment patterns and analyse markets for various therapeutic categories, mostly in many developed countries. In emerging markets, like India, no substantial insights have been drawn from prescription behavioural pattern of physicians. This research paper is an attempt to contribute to the overall knowledge of understanding the factors that influence the buying behaviour pattern of medical practitioners in the Indian context. This study suggests that the doctors normally prescribe a combination of both ethical and generic drugs with the same efficacy for a specific disease. Medical practitioners while prescribing also consider the combination of ethical drug promotions from the medical representative, regular visits of the local pharmacists and responses to their inquiries on company’s promotional advertisements and materials.