Exploring the link between physicians’ familiarity and biosimilar prescribing in Thailand
Issued Date
2025-01-01
Resource Type
ISSN
19054637
eISSN
30277922
Scopus ID
2-s2.0-105009247090
Journal Title
Thai Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences
Volume
49
Issue
2
Rights Holder(s)
SCOPUS
Bibliographic Citation
Thai Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences Vol.49 No.2 (2025)
Suggested Citation
Kachai E., Sooksriwong C., Katchamart W., Phodha T. Exploring the link between physicians’ familiarity and biosimilar prescribing in Thailand. Thai Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences Vol.49 No.2 (2025). doi:10.56808/3027-7922.3034 Retrieved from: https://repository.li.mahidol.ac.th/handle/123456789/111111
Title
Exploring the link between physicians’ familiarity and biosimilar prescribing in Thailand
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Author's Affiliation
Corresponding Author(s)
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Abstract
Background: Despite the availability of various biosimilars in Thailand, the link between physicians’ familiarity and biosimilars prescribing practice remains still unclear. Objectives: This study aimed to find the association between physicians’ familiarity and biosimilars prescribing practice among physicians in Thailand. Methods: This research adopted an extended analysis framework, utilizing survey data from a pilot study on the surveillance of Thai physicians regarding biosimilar uptake. The familiarity with biosimilars among respondents was evaluated. Results: The result showed that 82 respondents were included in the study. There was 79.3% of respondents indicated prescribing biosimilars. Overall, most respondents (75.6%) showed an “adequate” level of familiarity with biosimilars, particularly their definition (87.8%). However, more than 60% of respondents showed misunderstanding about extrapolation of indications and the “NBS” (New Biosimilar) letter code in drug licenses. Of all baseline characteristics, the study showed that gender, medical specialty, and experience in prescribing biosimilars were very strong association with the observed measures of familiarity level significantly (P < 0.05). Self-assessed familiarity with biosimilars showed a statistically significant association to the observed measures of familiarity level as well (P < 0.05) but only small effect. Conclusion: There was an association between physicians’ familiarity level and biosimilars prescribing practice in Thailand. The proportion of biosimilar prescribing obtained from this study is an important parameter for the further research of budget impact. Although most of respondents had adequate level of familiarity with biosimilars, the study revealed several gaps in familiarity that need to be educated. The finding can lead to the development of policy intervention on physicians’ familiarity and national budget impact analysis.