FOUR OUT of 10 Irish people are unaware of the existence of cheaper, generic alternatives to brand-name medicines, according to research conducted by the Irish Medicines Board.
However, the vast majority of people say they are willing to use generic medicines or switch to them from the brand-name drug they are using, the research found.
Some 78 per cent of those surveyed said they would accept a generic medicine if it was offered by their doctor or pharmacist and 72 per cent expressed a willingness to consider a generic as an alternative to the original brand-name medicine they might be taking.
The findings from the medicines board are likely to be welcomed by the Government, which plans to introduce large-scale generic substitution next year in an effort to cut the national drugs bill.
Generic medicines have the same active ingredients and are made to the same standards as the original brand-name drugs and can be manufactured once the original has gone out of patent.
Of the 20 per cent of respondents who said they would not accept a generic medicine, the main reasons cited were a lack of knowledge about what generics are, and a familiarity with, and trust of, their existing medicines.
The survey also found a high level of trust in healthcare professionals, with 68 per cent of people saying their GP was their most trusted source of advice about medicines, and 25 per cent relying mostly on their pharmacist.
More than 90 per cent of people said they were confident about the safety of medicines they bought in pharmacies and shops in Ireland, and four in 10 said they intended to become better informed and educated about health issues in the near future.
The board has published an information leaflet about generic medicines, which is available on its website, imb.ie.