Milanese pharmacies engaged in information campaign
December 12, 5.04pm
(HANDLE); MILAN, 12 DEC – Pharmacies are increasingly committed to assisting citizens in choosing between 'designer' medicines and generic medicines, but there are still many people who prejudicially refuse generic medicines. This is what emerges from a survey by Federfarma Milano among 300 (out of a total of 950) pharmacies in Milan, Monza and Lodi, the results of which were presented today by the president Annarosa Racca.
The time needed to explain the characteristics of generic drugs to citizens has significantly increased; says Racca – since it became mandatory for doctors to specify the active ingredient of the drug in the recipes, leaving people the choice between designer and generic.
Most pharmacists (72.8%) take between 2 and 4 minutes to inform the citizen ("a considerable period of time; according to Racca - for the rhythms of a pharmacy") and 14.6% they takes more than 4 minutes.
But the survey also confirms citizens' persistent distrust of generic drugs: according to the majority of pharmacists (84.5%) people who spontaneously ask for a generic do not exceed 30%; while 58.9% of pharmacists declare that they have more than 50% of customers who tend to refuse generics a priori.
”Pharmacists always indicate to the citizen the generic drug equivalent to the designer one, as prescribed by the law – says Annarosa Racca; also because they believe that informing and assisting citizens is one of the fundamental service functions of a modern pharmacy.
Moreover, the advice is what has always characterized the role of the pharmacist in the pharmacy”.
Among the proposals that emerged was that of standardizing the color of drug packaging to prevent patients becoming prejudicially attached to a box without wanting to change it, even in the presence of obvious advantages (as requested by 39.4% of pharmacists). Other proposals concern more targeted information, the abolition of the invented names of drugs (even of new drugs), completely removing the names of drug manufacturers, establishing a uniform price. (ANSA).
Generic drugs. There are still many prejudices among citizens
This is what emerges from a survey carried out among Lombard pharmacists. According to the 84.5% of professionals, people who spontaneously ask for the generic do not pass the 30%; while half of the pharmacists declare that ol
