The unified medical prescription as a tool to promote generic prescription: A cross-sectional study addressing physicians’ perception in Lebanon

INTRODUCTION: The unified medical prescription was implemented as a policy to decrease the overall health expenditures and increase the use of generic drugs. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the perception of Lebanese physicians towards the unified medical Prescription and its impact on the overall generic prescription. Additionally, an overview was assessed concerning the type of drugs that physicians tend more to accept to be substituted to generic alternatives. METHODS: A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted in Lebanon over a period of three months targeting physicians in their private clinics or in various hospitals using a survey as an instrument. RESULTS: Our findings demonstrated that more than the half of respondents (56.6%) believed that the unified medical prescription preserves the exclusivity for physicians to choose the medication while only 39.5% of physicians think that the unified medical prescription encouraged generic prescription and almost 42% admitted that the unified medical prescription lowers the medical cost for the patient. DISCUSSION: Despite that this new medical form of prescription is a high achievement for the Lebanese Ministry Of Public Health, this last should make essential actions: coordinating the generic drug substitution policy and monitoring its implementation over time and achievement of goals; establishing appropriate pricing system and medicines prices and controlling the interactions between physicians, pharmacists, and pharmaceutical industries; ensure their full commitment; and update the national list of substitutable generic drugs. CONCLUSION: The main objective of the unified medical prescription is to decrease the pharmaceutical expenditure and to provide access to medications for patients with lower socio-economic status. Lebanese physicians reported that this tool did not achieve its goal yet but have an impact on lowering the medical cost for patients and promoting generic prescription.