# \[e-drug\] Medical doctors & belief in brand names (2)

**URL:** <https://talk.edrugplus.org/t/e-drug-medical-doctors-belief-in-brand-names-2/28190>\
**Category:** e-drug\
**Created:** [July 12, 2007, 7:19am UTC](https://talk.edrugplus.org/t/e-drug-medical-doctors-belief-in-brand-names-2/28190 "2007-07-12T07:19:05Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Muhammad\_Shafique](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@Muhammad\_Shafique](https://talk.edrugplus.org/u/Muhammad_Shafique)\
**Post date:** [July 12, 2007, 7:19am UTC](https://talk.edrugplus.org/t/e-drug-medical-doctors-belief-in-brand-names-2/28190/1 "2007-07-12T07:19:05Z")

</div>

E-DRUG: Medical doctors & belief in brand names (2)  
----------------------------------------------

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.

Regards

Muhammad Shafique  
Pharmacist,  
Caritas Pakistan,  
Earth-quake Response Programme,  
Mansehra, Pakistan.  
shafique\_tabish@hotmail.com  
0092-333-2668016

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![StMawa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de053/32.png) [@StMawa](https://talk.edrugplus.org/u/StMawa)\
**Post date:** [July 12, 2007, 8:30am UTC](https://talk.edrugplus.org/t/e-drug-medical-doctors-belief-in-brand-names-2/28190/2 "2007-07-12T08:30:25Z")

</div>

E-DRUG: Medical doctors & belief in brand names (4)  
--------------------------------------------------

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

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![henry\_irunde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/d6d6ee/32.png) [@henry\_irunde](https://talk.edrugplus.org/u/henry_irunde)\
**Post date:** [July 12, 2007, 9:08am UTC](https://talk.edrugplus.org/t/e-drug-medical-doctors-belief-in-brand-names-2/28190/3 "2007-07-12T09:08:18Z")

</div>

E-DRUG: Medical doctors & belief in brand names (5)  
-------------------------------------------------

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