Who controls you? Closer look in the implementation of the Generics Act of 1988: particularly, the role of medical doctors in improving the knowledge of the Filipinos regarding the safety and efficacy of generic drugs.

Abstract

The Generics Act of 1988 has been passed for the last two decades but one of its primary goals is yet to be fully achieved. The tradional bias against generic drugs is still present. This is despite the fact that branded and generic drugs are the same in content. The goals of the law are not fully realized because the implemnter themeselves are biased against generic drugs. The role of the medical doctors in improving the knowledge of the Filipinos regarding the safety and efficacy of generic drugs is put into challenge. Public doctors fully comply with the law. On the other hand, private docotrs still tend to favor branded drugs over generic drugs. There is a notion that poor people are easily persuaded. And what the doctors prescribe are followed by the poor patients. This hold true to the cases that has been studied by this research. The researcher conducted surveys in the top 3 poorest baranggays in Cabiao, Nueva Ecija to see the general knowledge about generic drugs. The researcher also interviewed private and public practioners as drug store retailers to see thier roles in giving the right information about generic drugs. Improving the knowledge the of Filipinos regarding the safety and efficacy of generic drugs will help the people to be empowered. With this, people will be able to choose and buy the drugs which they prefer.