A Study of the attitudes of adults enrolled in a preferred provider organization regarding generic prescription medications.

There has been a dramatic increase in the number of managed care companies who offer prescription drug benefits to people in the United States in recent years. These companies often either mandate or encourage their members to accept generic medication when it is available. Although consumer opinions of generic drugs wee studied by several groups right after the 1989 Food and Drug Administration scandal, little information is available to understand current consumer attitudes. For this study, a questionnaire was mailed to 889 members of a national Preferred Provider Organization with prescription drug coverage. The information requested on the survey included demographics, general opinions of generic medications, opinions of the role pharmacists play in giving information and recommendations on generics, what financial incentives would be necessary for people to choose a generic medication, and consumer awareness of the generic drug scandal of 1989. The usable response rate was 31% (275/889). Of the 275 respondents, 120 (43%) believed that generic medications were as effective as the brand name medications and 87 (32%) were neutral. Seventy-two percent of respondents considered their pharmacist a valuable source of information about generics. One hundred thirty respondents (53%) would need to save five dollars or more to choose a generic medication over a brand name. When asked if they were aware of any publicity surrounding the generic drug industry in recent years, 132 respondents (48%) indicated that they were aware. Of these respondents, however, 76 people (58%) were either neutral or disagreed that the publicity they heard decreased their faith in generic medication. In reviewing the results it appears that many consumers had forgotten the publicity about the generic drug scandal between the time it occurred in 1989 and the time they completed the survey in 1991 or they were never aware of the scandal. Apparently people have a significant trust in their pharmacist and are influenced by what their pharmacist says regarding generic medication. Managed care companies who want their members to select generic medication need to structure their prescription drug co-payments so that members save a minimum of five dollars when a generic is available. Overall, consumers appear trusting of both generic medication and their pharmacist's opinion regarding drug product selection.