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from the this-cancer-diagnosis-brought-to-you-by-Johnson-&-Johnson dept.
Researchers from Johns Hopkins University published a new Journal of Marketing article that examines how receiving negative medical results might affect how people choose between generic and brand name drugs:
At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Manuel Hermosilla received a call from a family friend in Chile who had been recently diagnosed with cancer. The friend needed help tracking down Hydroxychloroquine to treat her rheumatoid arthritis—a drug in short supply given its supposed therapeutic powers to combat COVID-19.
Hermosilla found two alternatives for Hydroxychloroquine: a generic version for about $15 a month and the branded version for a hefty $330. The family friend didn't want the generic version, Hermosilla says. "Given her cancer diagnosis, she felt the generic wasn't 'safe' enough—which got me to thinking: could medical-related insecurities impact patients' brand/generic choices?"
Getting bad medical news can be alarming. It might influence us to embark on a healthier lifestyle, perhaps by exercising more or eating healthier food. Given that brand name drugs are perceived to be more effective and perhaps even safer than generics (despite many experts viewing generics as molecular replicas of brand name drugs), bad news might also affect how we choose between drugs.
This new research points to estimates suggesting substantial savings for the U.S. healthcare system— about 10% of drug expenditures, or $36 billion a year—if patients always chose a generic option when available. The researchers suggest that a broader use of generics could significantly lower expenditures without sacrificing the quality of patient care.
Journal Reference:
Hermosilla, M., & Ching, A. T. (2023). EXPRESS: Does Bad Medical News Reduce Preferences for Generic Drugs? Journal of Marketing, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1177/00222429231158360
(Score: 2) by corey on Wednesday April 26, @10:09PM (1 child)
Yeah this is exactly the same for software. Corporates believe that software you pay lots for is more reliable and valuable than FOSS. I even had a chat with my project manager at about about this, he was arguing that modeling with Matlab ($$$) is more trustworthy than doing the same with Python (free). I couldn’t easily change his mind but I’ve known for years that the more they pay for things, the more they autotrust them.
(Score: 2) by Mykl on Thursday April 27, @05:34AM
Depends how you're using the tools. If you're using Matlab's built-in functions then I'd agree - I'm going to trust those more than your Python script given the sheer volume of real-world testing they've undergone. If, on the other hand, you're using Matlab to write your own custom script then I would argue they're functionally similar - equally likely to contain your bugs and logic errors.