Generics are like antibiotics, it’s far from automatic! Only 55% of French people would accept the substitution of the original drug by a generic, according to the Ifop barometer, carried out for the group of pharmacists PHR, which the free daily 20 Minutes echoes. And over time, the French even seem less and less convinced by generic drugs since this rate of support for the principle of substitution has dropped by 7 points since 2011.
However, we cannot speak of total disenchantment. Indeed, as the study carried out by Ifop shows, the French recognize their advantages: 79% of them consider them more economical, 64% declare them safe, and even 70% admit that they are as effective as the originals.
To give substitution a boost, Lucien Bennatan, pharmacist and president of the PHR group, declared in 20 Minutes “that a major information campaign should be carried out in order to correct misinformation”.
But, it is perhaps not the French who must be convinced, but rather the doctors. Indeed, if 82% of drugs dispensed in pharmacies are indeed generics, they are only prescribed by the doctor in 40% of cases. Last July, the Director of Health Insurance also announced that these prescriptions should be increased from 40 to 60%. The stakes are high: 500 million euros in savings.
Doctors who are opposed to generics and who systematically write on their prescriptions the mention “NS” for “non-substitutable” are also in the crosshairs of Health Insurance. Some 500 recalcitrants have been identified and are threatened with sanctions.
