Dr. Sulaiman Al Habib Medical Journal

Volume 2, Issue 4, December 2020, Pages 179 - 185

Perception toward Biosimilars and Nonmedical Switching: A Cross-sectional Survey among Arab Rheumatologists

Authors
Mohammed A. Omair1, *, ORCID, Humaid Al Wahshi2, Jamal Al Saleh3, Farida Al Balushi2, Mostafa Zayed4, Maha A. Omair5, Eduardo Mysler6
1Rheumatology Unit, Department of Medicine, College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
2Rheumatology Unit, The Royal Hospital, Ministry of Health, Muscat, Oman
3Rheumatology Department, Dubai Hospital, Dubai Health Authority, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
4Department of Health Economics, Accsight L.L.C (Healthcare Integrated Solutions), Cairo, Egypt
5Department of Statistics and Operations Research, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
6Rheumatology Unit, Reumatólogo en Organización Médica de Investigación, Buenos Aires, Argentina
*Corresponding author. Email: momair@ksu.edu.sa
Corresponding Author
Mohammed A. Omair
Received 3 April 2020, Accepted 11 July 2020, Available Online 7 August 2020.
DOI
10.2991/dsahmj.k.200727.001How to use a DOI?
Keywords
Rheumatoid arthritis; biosimilars; nonmedical switching
Abstract

Objective: The aim of this study is to assess the level of knowledge and acceptance for biosimilars and nonmedical switching in Arab rheumatologists.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted during the Arab League Against Rheumatism conference using a structured questionnaire consisting of 17 questions.

Results: The participants were mainly females (50.7%), practicing in the Gulf region (65.7%) with a median [Interquartile Range (IQR)] age and years of practice as consultants of 44 (13) years and 10 (14) years, respectively. The median (IQR) self-perceived knowledge of biosimilars was 5.3 (4) out of 10. Most physicians agreed that the evidence published to grant biosimilars an approval for the studied indication was enough (40.6%), yet most of them believed it was not enough for extrapolation of indications (40.6%). The mean (standard deviation) likelihood to prescribe biosimilars in the future was 5.39 (2.6). The majority of rheumatologists (59.8%) believe that nonmedical switching could pose harm to patients. Most physicians agreed that nonmedical switching will lead to a significant saving in cost (58.5%) with the majority expecting a cost reduction between 30% and 50% to justify nonmedical switching.

Conclusion: This is the first study to evaluate acceptance of biosimilars and nonmedical switching on a diverse population of rheumatologists in the Middle East. Future educational activities task forces should target these topics.

Copyright
© 2020 Dr. Sulaiman Al Habib Medical Group. Publishing services by Atlantis Press International B.V.
Open Access
This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY-NC 4.0 license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/).

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Journal
Dr. Sulaiman Al Habib Medical Journal
Volume-Issue
2 - 4
Pages
179 - 185
Publication Date
2020/08/07
ISSN (Online)
2590-3349
ISSN (Print)
2666-819X
DOI
10.2991/dsahmj.k.200727.001How to use a DOI?
Copyright
© 2020 Dr. Sulaiman Al Habib Medical Group. Publishing services by Atlantis Press International B.V.
Open Access
This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY-NC 4.0 license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/).

Cite this article

TY  - JOUR
AU  - Mohammed A. Omair
AU  - Humaid Al Wahshi
AU  - Jamal Al Saleh
AU  - Farida Al Balushi
AU  - Mostafa Zayed
AU  - Maha A. Omair
AU  - Eduardo Mysler
PY  - 2020
DA  - 2020/08/07
TI  - Perception toward Biosimilars and Nonmedical Switching: A Cross-sectional Survey among Arab Rheumatologists
JO  - Dr. Sulaiman Al Habib Medical Journal
SP  - 179
EP  - 185
VL  - 2
IS  - 4
SN  - 2590-3349
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/dsahmj.k.200727.001
DO  - 10.2991/dsahmj.k.200727.001
ID  - Omair2020
ER  -