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Abstract

Background: The availability of generic drugs in the drug markets has increased noticeably, and generic substitution is a regular practice in many countries. The current study assesses community pharmacists' knowledge, attitude, perception, and practices toward generic drug substitution in the North Al-Batinah Governorate of Oman. Methods: This is a cross-sectional survey. A self-administered questionnaire was distributed to a convenience sample of community pharmacists in the North Al Batinah Governorate, Oman. The survey was conducted for three months, from November 2018 to January 2019. The data collected was analyzed using SPSS-IBM v20. Results: A total of 60 community pharmacies were surveyed, with a response rate of 86%. The study assessed the responses of 53 community pharmacists who met the inclusion criteria, the majority (73.6%, n=39) were men, 49.1% (n=26) of the pharmacist were in the age group of 25-30 years, and 73.6% (n=39) of the pharmacists were Indian. The study observed that the average knowledge score was 6.83 (±1.46). A high percentage of community pharmacists were aware that generic medicines and brands are bioequivalent (81.1%) and can be substituted in medical treatments (88.7%), and 86.8% knew that generics are in similar chemical structures and drug safety profiles. In addition, most pharmacists (92%) were familiar with the generic medication of most brands in the market. Community pharmacists indicated that bonuses, incentives, patient demand for the medicine, and manufacturer credibility influenced their stocking and dispensing of generic medicine in the community pharmacies. Conclusion: Pharmacists showed a positive attitude towards generic drugs and highly supported generic substitution of generics in community pharmacies. However, educational intervention/continuing education training programs are required to improve generic medicine dispensing practices among community pharmacists.

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

10.59049/2790-0231.1168

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