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Drug price sensitivity among physicians in a developing healthcare system: Evidence from the Philippine market for statins and beta blockers

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  • Magno, Cielo
  • Guzman, Ricardo Rafael S.

Abstract

In healthcare systems with limited drug regulation and weakly enforced generic substitution policies, do physicians prescribe drugs on the basis of prices? This paper tests this result by examining prescription behavior in the Philippines market for lipid-lowering and cardioselective beta blocking agents. Using individual level data on physician prescriptions from the 2013 IMS Health Physician Medical Data Index, we estimate a nested multinomial logit model to examine responses of physicians to price variations across and within an expanded choice set of generic, branded originator, and branded non-originator (‘me-too’) drugs. We demonstrate that price variation across molecules has a substantial effect on the choice of molecule and this effect varies with physician and patient characteristics. This suggests price sensitivity on the part of the physicians who may adjust their prescriptions accordingly.

Suggested Citation

  • Magno, Cielo & Guzman, Ricardo Rafael S., 2019. "Drug price sensitivity among physicians in a developing healthcare system: Evidence from the Philippine market for statins and beta blockers," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 268-279.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecanpo:v:62:y:2019:i:c:p:268-279
    DOI: 10.1016/j.eap.2019.04.005
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Prescription drugs; Physician prescribing behavior; Price-sensitivity; Generic drugs; Branded drugs;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I12 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health Behavior
    • I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health

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