Perhaps more education is needed. This is the conclusion of an article by Giovatto et al. (2024). The authors conducted an online survey of US health system prescribers and specialty pharmacists practicing in rheumatology, dermatology, and gastroenterology. Among the 31 prescribers and 44 pharmacists who responded to the survey:
Only 16.0% of prescribers and 13.4% of pharmacists reported being “very prepared” to discuss biosimilar options with patients. 43% of prescribers indicated that they would prescribe a biosimilar to biologic-naïve patients. However, 13.3% of prescribers would be willing to prescribe a biosimilar to patients who have successfully established biological therapy. Among pharmacists, 68.1% were comfortable recommending a biosimilar substitution to a patient who had not received biologic treatment, but only 18.1% would recommend a biosimilar substitution to an existing patient who had successfully established themselves on a biological therapy. Less than half of prescribers (48.0%) and pharmacists (42.0%) understood the interchangeability and substitution rules.
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