Correspondence: Mohamed Azmi Hassali, Discipline of Social and Administrative Pharmacy School of Pharmaceutical Sciences Universiti Sains Malaysia 11800 Minden Penang, Malaysia. Tel: +604 6534085; Fax: +604 6570017; E-mail: azmihassali@usm.my

¹graduated with a pharmacy degree from Damascus University — Faculty of Pharmacy in 1997. He undertook his Master's studies in the field of clinical pharmacy at Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) and graduated in 2006. He is currently a PhD candidate in Social and Administrative Discipline, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, USM. His current research interests are in the area of generic medicines and the their role in the healthcare system of developing countries.

²graduated with a pharmacy degree from Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) in 1998. Following his pharmacy pre-registration training, he undertook his Master's studies in the field of clinical pharmacy at USM and graduated in 2000. In May 2006, he was successfully awarded a PhD degree by The Victorian College of Pharmacy, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia in the field of Pharmacy Practice. His current research interests are in the area of clinical pharmacoeconomics, social pharmacy, and the role of pharmacists in public health. Currently, Dr Azmi is attached with Discipline of Social and Administrative Pharmacy, School of Pharmaceutical Science, Universiti Sains Malaysia.

Received 4 February 2008; Revised 4 February 2008; Published online 4 March 2008.

Abstract

The aims of this paper were to identify and review the literature on pharmacists' views and practices on the use of generic medicines. Using appropriate keywords pertaining to the subject matter, an extensive literature search was undertaken using indexing services available in the authors' institution library. These electronic databases were searched for full-text papers written in the English language during the period from 1980 until September 2007. Based on this search, 13 studies were identified. The majority of studies are from the United States, with few from Europe and Asia. All retrieved studies, except one, used quantitative methodology. Most of the studies showed that pharmacists' views and behaviours towards generic medicine utilisation were affected by economic considerations, quality and bioequivalency of generic medications, drug therapeutic class, and other actors (the physicians, the patients, and public health officials). This review suggests that although in general pharmacists were positively inclined towards generic medication use, they have some considerations that determine to what extent they will support generic medicine use. These are economic, scientific, and policy-related considerations that are likely to remain matters for discussion in the future among pharmacists and their professional organisations.