Factors affecting physicians' decisions in using national and foreign brands in prescribing medicine

The aim of this study was to investigate the factors affecting the physicians' decisions in prescribing medicine and in using national and foreign brands of medicine with the help of decision-making styles of Sprolls and Kendall models among physicians in Urmia. Given the prevalence of COVID-19 disease worldwide, physicians' decisions and preferences in prescribing medication are considered vital.

The present study is an applied survey.  The study population included 400 general practitioners, specialists and subspecialists in Urmia. The normality of data was measured using Kolmogorov-Smirnov test. Cronbach's alpha was also used for reliability of the questionnaire. Regression analysis was used to measure the strength or degree of linear relationship between two independent variables. SPSS software was also used for data analysis.

The results showed that out of six influential factors, five factors (quality, brand, newness, price, and loyalty) were identified among physicians. In addition to identified factors, a new factor namely "time and energy saving" was also a determining factor.

Considering the 7 factors influencing physicians 'decision-making, the results showed that physicians pay a great amount of attention to prescribing quality medicine in their preferences. On the other hand, the brand has a special place in physicians' decisions; therefore, drug companies and manufacturers should also care about branding their products.