A RECENT study by the School of Pharmaceutical Sciences at Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) indicates that healthcare costs can be reduced substantially if generic drugs are used instead of branded ones.

Dr Mohamed Azmi Ahmad Hassali, a senior lecturer at the faculty, tells StarBizWeek that his study shows that the use of generic drugs can help patients at private hospitals save between 60% and 90% on their medical bills.

 However, he says the usage of generic drugs is not promoted in Malaysia, and the lack of awareness among consumers is a factor.

In addition, the private healthcare sector in general seems to prefer using branded drugs. This is due to the perception that branded drugs means ensured effectiveness.

But according to Association of Private Hospitals of Malaysia president Datuk Dr Jacob Thomas, doctors at private hospitals do use generic drugs if the price differential between the generic and the original drugs is significant, and the efficacy of the generic drugs is as good as the original.

“If the price difference is not significant, doctors tend to stick to the use branded drugs,” he explains.

In the healthcare sector, medicine prices are an important (but not the only) contributing factor to health expenditure increases, says Dr Chan Chee Koon, professor and convenor for health and social policy research cluster at USM.

“For the private sector, Malaysia is among the few countries that still leave medicine prices unregulated. So, it is high time that the Malaysian authorities intervene and regulate the pricing of essential medicines,” he says.

According to Mohamed Azmi, about 80% of the listed essential drugs in the country have generic substitutes. He emphasises that approved generic drugs have been tested for their bio-equivalents, and the rate of absorption of these drugs is comparable to that of branded ones.

Even the Government is now relying more on generic drugs to mitigate the effects of rising medical costs. Above all, Mohamed Azmi says, the healthcare system must ensure that “the right drug is given to the right patient at the right dose, at the right time, adressing the right root at the right cost”.