OBJECTIVES: Generics substitution is one of the most widely spread measure for pharmaceutical cost containment worldwide. In Greece, generics substitution was introduced in 2012 due to imposition of measures to reduce pharmaceutical expenditure. This research attempts to investigate the attitude and beliefs of EOPYY (National Organization for the Provision of Healthcare Services) pharmacists towards generics medicines.

METHODS: The study sample comprised of all (n=35) EOPYY pharmacies around Greece with response rate 63,41% (104 out of 164 completed questionnaires) during December 2018 until April 2019. The questionnaire used was based on the Greek translated version of Labiris et al (2015) questionnaire, and it was a self-completed online version. For the statistical analysis of the results descriptive and inferential statistics were used with SPSS 22.0 program.

RESULTS: The majority of the sample believes that the effectiveness, safety and production standards of generics (74,1%, 63,5% and 66,4%) are similar to ogininal medicins. On the contrary, 44,2% of the sampe responed negatively to the capability of the Greek authorities to ensure the quality and safety standards of generics, while 59% believe that generic substitution should be performed by pharmacists. The study sample strongly believes that in life threatening diseases (59,6%) and disabilitating diseases (60,6%) the use of generics should be avoided.

CONCLUSIONS: EOPYY pharmacists believe in generics bioequivalence however, they do not agree on the substitution in cases of serious or disabilitating diseases. The obvious lack of information regarding the quality standards of generics at pharmacist level, in combination with the lack of trust on their quality control on behalf of greek health authorities, undermines the promotional efforts of generics.