Brand-Name Drugs Seen As Poor Value For Money

US consumers see generic prescriptions as offering far better value for money than brand-name drugs, and the gulf is probably growing, according to results from the recent Wall Street Journal Online/Harris Interactive Health-Care Poll. The survey also looked at perceptions of services such as doctors, pharmacies and nursing homes.

Three times as many Americans responded that generic prescription drugs were 'very good/fairly good value' for the money compared to the more expensive brand-name prescription drugs (63% to 21% respectively).

Over-the-counter drugs, vitamins and mineral supplements, doctors and pharmacies received were most commonly rated as providing average value, whereas medical devices and equipment such as pacemakers and stents were rated as 'very good/fairly good value' by a respectable 43% of adult Americans, with 21% 'not sure'.

The lowest ranked items, alongside brand-name prescription drugs, were hospitals, health insurance companies and nursing homes - particularly among those aged 65 years and older.

'The pharmaceutical industry has been seriously damaged by what many people see as its 'unreasonable prices' mainly because copays and other out-of-pocket costs for prescription drugs have risen so sharply', said Humphrey Taylor, chairman of The Harris Poll(r) at Harris Interactive, adding that 'this trend is likely to continue'.

A downloadable pdf of results in more detail is available at www.harrisinteractive.com/news/newsletters_wsj.asp

The Wall Street Journal Online/Harris Interactive Health-Care Poll is an exclusive poll that is published in the Health Industry Edition of The Wall Street Journal Online at www.wsj.com/health . The 2,098 respondents from across the US were aged 18+ and answered questions online between August 8 and 11. 'Propensity score' weighting was used to adjust for respondents' propensity to be online.

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas unless otherwise stated.

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