Abstract
The utilization of generic drugs has been promoted, but there is concern about the insufficiency of the information provided on generic drugs. To make an objective evaluation of the amount of information supplied by generic drug manufactures, we tried to quantify the information supply. The information described in the package insert and the interview form were used in the evaluation. We sent a questionnaire to 1000 randomly selected hospitals nationwide to determine the necessity of each information item in medical practice, and weighted the score allotted to each item based on replies from 524 hospitals. We applied these procedures to diclofenac sodium products and found that the score for a branded drug was 60.5 points and that for generic drugs ranged from 1.6 to 58.3 points. This indicates that there were great variations in information supply activities among the manufacturers. The Qua value, which was the ratio of the points of a generic drug per unit price in the drug tariff to the points of the branded drug, ranged from 0.1 to 2.4. We think that these procedures will make it possible to select the appropriate generic drugs in medical practice.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callMore From: Yakugaku zasshi : Journal of the Pharmaceutical Society of Japan
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
