Pharmacy Daily | Pharmacists trusted less

A new survey of people taking prescription medications has found that patients overwhelmingly prefer doctors to pharmacists when it comes to being a “trustworthy source of information”. The wide-ranging poll also found that Australians “overwhelmingly value the PBS system, support R&D and are concerned about delays in accessing new medicines,” according to Medicines Australia. The Galaxy survey of almost 2,000 people was sponsored by research firm Ethical Strategies and the Pharma Dispatch journal, and found that 51% of people surveyed take a prescription medicine daily - equivalent to 9 million adult Australians. That figure increased to 81% among those aged 65 or more. 86% of those on medication think the PBS is a good investment of taxpayer dollars, while 80% said they were concerned about reports of delays in accessing new medicines in Australia compared with other countries. 60% also said they believed that pharmaceutical R&D will improve the treatment of their condition in the future. MA ceo Brendan Shaw said “This survey shows that the medicines industry’s concerns about protecting the PBS and ensuring new medicines are made available quickly are shared by the Australian community. “When 86% of people say that the PBS is a good use of taxpayers’ money, this is a strong signal that the community supports the current scheme,” he said. Shaw went on to say that there is a broad concern about missing out on new medicines, particularly for those treating debilitating diseases such as cancer, diabetes and rare diseases, compared to other countries. He said this suggests that Australians “value the $1 billion invested in R&D each year by the Australian medicines industry.” Interestingly, the study also found that 96% of patients were confident their condition is being effectively managed, while 60% would recommend their prescription medicine to friends or family. And two thirds of patients considered their doctor to be the “most trustworthy source of information” - compared to just 18% who trusted their pharmacists the most. 82% of patients also confirmed they had recently been asked whether they would like the generic form of their medication. CLICK HERE to view the survey.

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