Physicians' Knowledge and Awareness about Biosimilars in Saudi Arabia: What is Imperative to Know??

Objectives: This study determined the current awareness and knowledge among physicians about biosimilars in Saudi Arabia. Methods: This study used a cross-sectional study design and data were acquired by the convenience sampling method. The research tool was self-developed, prevalidated and self-administered to achieve the sample size. The physicians from various parts of the country participated in the study. Both, inferential statistics with the help of descriptive statistics were applied using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 24.0 and Microsoft Excel. A p-value <0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: A total of 105 practicing physicians throughout the country participated in the study. The majority of the participants were well informed and had adequate knowledge and awareness about numerous aspects of biosimilars except for the local healthcare policies and payer policies, where around half of them very aware of them. Statistically, a non-significant association (p-value >0.05) was observed. Conclusion: It is concluded that the study physicians had adequate knowledge and awareness about biosimilars in Saudi Arabia. Statistically, a non-significant association (p <0.05) was observed between adequate and inadequate knowledge among the studied physicians in Saudi Arabia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]