Japan Generics Move Slowed By Lack Of Pharmacy Incentives
This article was originally published in PharmAsia News
Executive Summary
Japan's effort to encourage greater use of generic versions of the drugs it covers is being hampered by a resistance by some dispensing pharmacies to promote them. The use of generics instead of higher-priced branded drugs is a centerpiece of the government's effort to lower the national cost of spending on medicines. But critics say that while government changes provided incentives to physicians to prescribe generics, they failed to provide enough economic incentives for pharmacies to follow the policy and substitute generics for brands except when a physician instructs them not to do so. Incentives put into the law fall short of what some experts say is needed to make pharmacies comply. (Click here for more - a subscription may be required