Researchers at Gifu Pharmaceutical University Release New Data on Public Health (Medical and economic factors influencing generic drug use in the…

Managed Care Weekly Digest

Researchers at Gifu Pharmaceutical University Release New Data on Public Health (Medical and economic factors influencing generic drug use in the Japanese public health system: Influencing factors in different populations)

By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Managed Care Weekly Digest -- Investigators discuss new findings in Public Health. According to news reporting originating in Gifu, Japan, by NewsRx journalists, research stated, "Factors influencing generic drug use must be considered when new drug policies are established and initiatives are implemented to promote generic drug use. This study was conducted to elucidate medical and economic factors that influence generic drug use in the Japanese public health system by evaluating the degree of generic drug use via a multivariate analysis."

The news reporters obtained a quote from the research from Gifu Pharmaceutical University, "We conducted a retrospective study of medications administered to inpatients at Gifu Municipal Hospital (Japan) from November 1 to 14, 2014. Details of inpatients (age, sex, and type of medical insurance) and the drugs administered (prescribing institution, dispensing pharmacy, price, and class) were assessed. A total of 1409 drugs (original, 639; generic, 770) were analyzed. Multivariate analysis showed significant differences in out-of-pocket medical fees [odds ratio (OR), 0.595], drugs prescribed at Gifu Municipal Hospital (OR, 1.811), drugs prepared at a health insurance pharmacy (OR, 1.541), drugs containing the same active substances as in the generic drugs used at Gifu Municipal Hospital (OR, 3.712), and drugs costing greater than or equal to30 yen and containing the same active substance/having the same specifications (OR, 0.516). Drugs prescribed at a large key hospital in the community with high adoption rates of generic drugs, drugs containing the same active substances as the generic drugs adopted by the hospital, and drugs prepared at health insurance pharmacies contributed to a more frequent use of generic drugs."

According to the news reporters, the research concluded: "By contrast, out-of-pocket medical fees and being prescribed expensive drugs contributed to the less frequent use of generic drugs."

For more information on this research see: Medical and economic factors influencing generic drug use in the Japanese public health system: Influencing factors in different populations. The International Journal of Health Planning and Management, 2018;(): (see also Public Health).

Our news correspondents report that additional information may be obtained by contacting T. Tachi, Laboratory of Clinical Pharmacy, Gifu Pharmaceutical University, Gifu, Japan. Additional authors for this research include K. Saito, H. Esaki, Y. Kanematsu, A. Yoshida, I. Sugita, Y. Noguchi, T. Makino, M. Umeda, M. Yasuda, T. Mizui, C. Goto and H. Teramachi.

The direct object identifier (DOI) for that additional information is: https://doi.org/10.1002/hpm.2489. This DOI is a link to an online electronic document that is either free or for purchase, and can be your direct source for a journal article and its citation.

Keywords for this news article include: Gifu, Japan, Hospitals, Medical Fees, Public Health, Health Insurance, Medical Economics, Drugs and Therapies, Health and Medicine.