Awareness, Knowledge, and Perceptions of Biosimilars Among Specialty Physicians.
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ABSTRACT: Introduction
The Biosimilars Forum conducted a survey through an independent organization from November 20, 2015 to January 4, 2016 in order to assess current levels of awareness, knowledge, and perceptions of biosimilars among US specialty physicians who already prescribe biologics. The survey was intended to provide a baseline level of knowledge about biosimilars and will be repeated in 2-3 years in order to monitor trends over time.Methods
A 19-question survey was created by the Biosimilars Forum and was administered by an independent third party.Results
Responses were obtained from 1201 US physicians across specialties that are high prescribers of biologics, including dermatologists, gastroenterologists, hematologist-oncologists, medical oncologists, nephrologists, and rheumatologists.Conclusions
The results of this survey highlight a significant need for evidence-based education about biosimilars for physicians across specialties. Five major knowledge gaps were identified: defining biologics, biosimilars, and biosimilarity; understanding the approval process and the use of "totality of evidence" to evaluate biosimilars; understanding that the safety and immunogenicity of a biosimilar are comparable to the originator biologic; understanding the rationale for extrapolation of indications; and defining interchangeability and the related rules regarding pharmacy-level substitution.Funding
Biosimilars Forum.
SUBMITTER: Cohen H
PROVIDER: S-EPMC5126187 | biostudies-literature |
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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Project description:ObjectivesTo examine physicians' perceptions of the uptake of biosimilars.DesignSystematic review.Data sourcesMedLine Ovid and Scopus databases at the end of 2018.Eligibility criteriaOriginal scientific studies written in English that addressed physicians' perceptions of the uptake of biosimilars.Data extraction and synthesisThe search resulted in altogether 451 studies and 331 after removing duplicates. Two researchers examined these based on the title, abstract and entire text, resulting in 20 studies. The references in these 20 studies were screened and three further studies were included. The data of these 23 studies were extracted. All the publications were quality assessed by two researchers.ResultsMost of the selected studies were conducted in Europe and commonly used short surveys. Physicians' familiarity with biosimilars varied: 49%-76% were familiar with biosimilars while 2%-25% did not know what biosimilars were, the percentages varying from study to study. Their measured knowledge was generally more limited compared with their self-assessed knowledge. Physicians' perceptions of biosimilars also varied: 54%-94% were confident prescribing biosimilars, while 65%-67% had concerns regarding these medicines. Physicians seemed to prefer originator products to biosimilars and prescribed biosimilars mainly for biologic-naive patients. They considered cost savings and the lower price compared with the originator biologic medicine as the main advantages of biosimilars, while their doubts were often related to safety, efficacy and immunogenicity. 64%-95% of physicians had negative perceptions of pharmacist-led substitution of biologic medicines.ConclusionsPhysicians' knowledge of and attitudes towards biosimilars vary. Although physicians had positive attitudes towards biosimilars, prescribing was limited, especially for patients already being treated with biologic medicines. Perceptions of pharmacist-led substitution of biologic medicines were often negative. Education and national recommendations for switching and substitution of biologic medicines are needed to support the uptake of biosimilars.
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Project description:Background Generic medicines substitution is an important means to control rapid growth of pharmaceutical expenditures for the healthcare system in China. Acceptance and utilization of generic medicines is highly influenced by healthcare providers’ perceptions. This study aimed to compare the knowledge, awareness and perceptions of generic medicines between physicians and pharmacists in China. Methods We used an online, cross-sectional survey across China. The questionnaire explored four sections: demographic characteristics, assessment of the participants’ knowledge and awareness of generic medicines, perceptions of generic medicines and generic substitution practices. Chi-square or Mann–Whitney-U tests were applied to compare differences between physicians and pharmacists. P-values < 0.05 were considered significant. Results A total of 1644 physicians and 4187 pharmacists participated. Most physicians (82.8%, n = 1362) and pharmacists (89.8%, n = 3760) correctly identified the definition of generic medicines. A similar percentage of physicians and pharmacists agreed that approved generic medicines are as effective (64.1% vs 68.2%) or safe (63.8% vs 69.1%) as brand-name medicines. Most physicians and pharmacists (67.6% vs 71.0%) supported the policy of generic substitution. In practice, 79.4% (n = 1305) of physicians reported that they had prescribed generic medicines. More than 78% of respondents reported an obvious increase in the number of generic medicines prescribed in their medical institutions. The majority of physicians and pharmacists identified lack of trust regarding efficacy and safety of generic medicines and the difficulty of changing patients’ preference as top challenges in generic substitution. Conclusions Both physicians and pharmacists surveyed had adequate knowledge of generic medicines, and hold positive attitude towards generics and generic substitution. Efficacy and safety are key factors related to prescribing or dispensing generic medicines. Various policies and regulations should be taken to encourage successful generic substitution. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12913-022-08438-9.
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Project description:BackgroundBiosimilar therapies and their naming conventions are both relatively new to the drug development market and in clinical practice. We studied the use of the four-letter naming convention in practice and the knowledge, perceptions, and preferences of US health care providers.MethodsA survey was distributed among health care professionals with a history of utilizing biosimilars in clinical practice to measure key knowledge and the presence of discernable naming trends. Differences in responses across pre-hypothesized subgroups were tested for statistical significance.ResultsOf the 506 surveys emailed, 83 (16%) people responded. Overall, there was poor knowledge about the key concepts surrounding biosimilars. For example, only 52% of respondents correctly identified that biosimilars were not the same as the generic drug; however, frequent use correlated with superior knowledge across all groups. In reference to naming preferences, 67% of all respondents indicated that they commonly use the brand name to distinguish biosimilars in clinical practice and a majority of them (85%) indicated that the brand name was easier to remember than the nonproprietary name with the four-letter suffix. An unexpected number of neutral responses was documented. Notably, more than half of respondents (68%) indicated a neutral response when asked if the four-letter suffix promoted medical errors.ConclusionsThere remains a knowledge gap with regard to biosimilars, and lack of consensus on how the naming convention is and should be utilized in clinical practice. The data also suggest that effective biosimilar education could aid in promoting familiarity with the naming convention among health care providers.
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