Date of Conferral
2016
Degree
Ph.D.
School
Health Services
Advisor
Amy Thompson
Abstract
Brand-name drug costs continue to create a burden for many US seniors who receive care from healthcare institutions. Generic medication is as therapeutic as is brand-name drugs and, in most cases, costs far less. Despite this cost difference, physicians continue to prescribe brand-name drugs. The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to explore physicians' patterns of prescribing brand-name drugs over generic drugs. This study was guided by the medical home model, which was developed in 1967 by the American Academy of Pediatrics. The study incorporated a purposeful sampling approach with a sample size of 151 physicians. Multiple linear regression was used to examine the associations between cost of treatment using generic medications and determinants of physicians' pattern of prescribing brand-name medications over generic medications. There were no statistically significant associations between physician belief of cost using generic medications and determinants of physicians' pattern of prescribing brand-name medications over generic medications, suggesting that physicians' prescription patterns are not solely determined by cost of the drug to the patients. The positive social change implication of this study is in the awareness that it generates among physicians, with evidence to suggest the need for more education on the utility of generic drugs instead of brand-name medications.
Recommended Citation
George, Tamuno Raymond, "Generic Drugs : Physician Prescribing Practices for Brand Name and Generic Medications" (2016). Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies. 2655.
https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/2655
