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Context: Over the last ten years, many research studies concerning pharmacists’ perceptions of generic medicines have been conducted worldwide, although this issue remains underexplored in Vietnam. Aims: To evaluate pharmacists’ views on generic medicines and to investigate the generic substitution practices in community pharmacies in the context of Vietnam. Methods: A cross-sectional survey comprising a 24-item self-administered anonymous questionnaire was distributed to 480 pharmacists in eleven provinces in southern Vietnam between December 2016 and March 2017. The main outcome measures were pharmacists’ views on generic medicines. Results: Of the 480 pharmacists who received the questionnaire, the effective response rate was 35.63% (n=171 pharmacists); however, 45 pharmacists chose all three correct generic names. Some 47.3% of respondents indicated that all the products that are approved as exhibiting generic equivalence can be considered therapeutically equivalent to the innovator drugs. Yet, 25.2% of respondents agreed that generic medicines are of inferior quality to branded medicines. The pharmacists who graduated from universities and those who had undergone only a short period of training differed significantly in terms of their knowledge and perceptions. About 60.2% of pharmacists recommended generics over branded products. Approximately 89% of respondents disagreed with the notion of implementing certain compulsory generic substitutions in Vietnam. Conclusions: The pharmacists who had completed only a short training period exhibited a lack of knowledge regarding generic names. This issue should hence be addressed by both pharmacy educators and relevant government agencies in order to ensure the wider use of generic products.

Context: According to a report by the World Health Organization (WHO), there were 1.4 million deaths worldwide in 2015 from tuberculosis (TB), with 3.9% being new cases and 21% being previously treated cases of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB). Aims: To review the literature concerning the costing analysis situation of MDR-TB treatment. Methods: The study was conducted as a systematic review, with a modified checklist being used as the vital instrument. A search was performed of three databases (PubMed, Cochrane, and Scopus) using the terms (cost OR economic, socioeconomic, expenditure, burden, fee, charge, budget impact) AND (resistance OR multidrug resistance, MDR) AND (tuberculosis OR TB, Mycobacterium tuberculosis) in order to identify relevant articles published from 2006 to the present. Results: A total of 1238 abstracts were identified, and 12 papers were ultimately included in the study. The quantity of the published articles was found to increase during in the period 2008 to 2016. Almost all the studies were based on patients’ and healthcare systems’ perceptions. The main data sources used were medical establishments and the reports of various relevant organizations. Primary data were used twice as much as secondary data. All the costing types, including direct costs and indirect costs, were mentioned, albeit not with the same frequency. Conclusions: Africa owns one-third of the articles included. Further, it was found that MDR-TB should be treated using ambulatory care rather than hospital-based models. Future research studies should focus on Asia, where drug resistance has proved to be a challenging issue.