TY - JOUR

T1 - Generic substitution, financial interests, and imperfect agency

AU - Rischatsch, Maurus

AU - Trottmann, Maria

AU - Zweifel, Peter

PY - 2013/6/1

Y1 - 2013/6/1

N2 - Policy makers around the world seek to encourage generic substitution. In this paper, the importance of prescribing physicians' imperfect agency is tested using the fact that some Swiss jurisdictions allow physicians to dispense drugs on their own account (physician dispensing, PD) while others disallow it. We estimate a model of physician drug choice with the help of drug claim data, finding a significant positive association between PD and the use of generics. While this points to imperfect agency, generics are prescribed more often to patients with high copayments or low incomes.

AB - Policy makers around the world seek to encourage generic substitution. In this paper, the importance of prescribing physicians' imperfect agency is tested using the fact that some Swiss jurisdictions allow physicians to dispense drugs on their own account (physician dispensing, PD) while others disallow it. We estimate a model of physician drug choice with the help of drug claim data, finding a significant positive association between PD and the use of generics. While this points to imperfect agency, generics are prescribed more often to patients with high copayments or low incomes.

KW - Management studies

KW - Brand-name drugs

KW - Drug dispensing

KW - Generic substitution

KW - Physician agency

KW - Prescribing behavior

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84878212094&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1007/s10754-013-9126-5

DO - 10.1007/s10754-013-9126-5

M3 - Journal articles

C2 - 23494466

VL - 13

SP - 115

EP - 138

JO - International Journal of Health Care Finance and Economics

JF - International Journal of Health Care Finance and Economics

SN - 1389-6563

IS - 2

ER -