THE ONGOING coronavirus pandemic has also highlighted the importance of making medicines not only accessible but also affordable. It has been 32 years since the passage of the Generic Drugs Act and 12 years since the Cheaper Medicines Act, but have majority of Filipinos, particularly the poor, fully taken advantage of the laws’ benefits?
It is believed that low consumer awareness is among the reasons for the low take-up of the Generics Act of 1988 (Republic Act 6675) and the Cheaper Medicines Act of 2008 (Republic Act 9502). This is compounded by the perception that generics are of poorer quality compared with branded medicines.
The Cheaper Medicines Act is intended to achieve universally accessible, cheaper, and quality medicines by pursuing an effective competition policy in the pharmaceutical sector. Under the law, an executive order was issued imposing maximum retail prices on a number of drugs. The Generics Act, meanwhile, aims to promote, require, and ensure the production, adequate supply, distribution, use, and acceptance of drugs and medicines identified by their generic names.
But it seems there is low awareness of the law, and while many people are aware of the Generics Act, most think the Cheaper Medicines Act cover mainly generic medicines.
Although the increase in the number of generic drugstores and the use of celebrity endorsers like Vilma Santos and Susan Roces had helped improve the image and acceptability of generic medicines, a more integrated communication campaign may be needed to promote the benefits of the two laws.
Government physicians can have a positive influence on the use of generics because they are required by law to write prescriptions using generic names. However, there’s a perception that private physicians, who have an option to write in brand names in addition to generic names, seem to contribute to the generic medicines’ image of poor quality, especially among higher social classes.
Perhaps it is important to study physicians’ behavior because whatever the doctors say, the patients will follow. In doing so we can develop ways on how to mobilize them and make them advocates of the Cheaper Medicines Act.
To correct consumer perception on the quality of generic drugs, information on why and how drug prices were reduced may be provided by the Food and Drug Administration to address quality and efficacy issues. Also, the Department of Health could come up with a campaign that could influence the behavior of consumers towards acceptance of generic medicines. Consumers do not usually ask for generics nor inquire about their prices when buying medicines. There is a need, therefore, to teach consumers to ask for generics and inquire about their prices if drugstores do not offer them.
