E-DRUG: Medical doctors & belief in brand names (2)
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Dear Colleagues and Dr Gopal Dabade,
I would like to point and tell you that it is also usual in Pakistan that
Medical Doctors ask for specific brands and even does not seems bad when it
comes to Multinational brands because they have some standard operating
procedures and cGMP guidelines that they follow to manufacture their
medicines. But it is evident in Pakistan that most of the physicians ask for local brands and brands that pay good facilities for such interventions.
This process has even led to the irrational use of medicines because many a
companies offer some big give a ways when a doctor writes many medicines of
specific company on prescription. Currently no such study has been done to
evaluate this phenomenon.
E-DRUG: Medical doctors & belief in brand names (4)
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In Uganda, it is not uncommon for medical doctors to prescribe specific brands and insist their patients buy them.? As such there is a growing believe that branded medicines are superior to generic counterparts. I find it weird when patients walk into my pharmacy demanding for brands from specific countries (mainly Europe), and despising generics from Asia or local manufacturers, simply because their doctor discouraged the latter. Some will even tell you stories of how their disease failed to cure on "Indian medicines" until their doctor recommended a "stronger" medicine from Switzerland.
Strange, but true...these are facts we deal with everyday as pharmacists.
Stephen Mawa,
Pharmacist,
MUWRP
Kampala, Uganda
stmawa@aim.com
E-DRUG: Medical doctors & belief in brand names (5)
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Dear Colleagues
This practise is not uncommon in developing countries.
It's corroborated by lack or poor drug promotional
control including quality and lack of independent drug
information centres. Doctors prescription rely heavily
on information given by Medical Representatives.
Access to journals and or continuing education is
another challenge in developing world. Few or lack of
drug utilisation studies, even dissemination of few
studies done is a problem.
All mentioned above compounds doctors' belief in brand
names in developing countries.
Henry Irunde
Consultant in Drug Safety
Ministry of Health
P.O.BOX 77150
Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Email:irunde@yahoo.com