title: Financial incentives for generic drugs: case study on a reimbursement program.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To discuss the use of financial incentives in choice of medication and to assess the economic results concerning the use of financial incentives to promote the use of genetic medication in lieu of reference drugs in a company with a reimbursement program.
  
  
  METHODS
  A case study was carried out in a large supermarket. The data was obtained in the company responsible for managing medication. The study reached 83,625 users between August 2005 and July 2007. The data was submitted to regressions in order to analyze trends and hypothesis tests to assess differences in medication consumption. The results were compared with general data regarding medication consumption of five other organizations and also with data about the national consumption of generic medication in Brazil.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The use of financial incentives to replace brand medications for generics, in the company studied, increased the consumption of generic drugs without reducing the company expenses with the reimbursement programs.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study show the occurrence of unplanned results (increase in the consumption of medications) and the positive consequences of the reimbursement program concerning access to medication.
authors.affiliation: Pontifícia Universidade Católica de São Paulo - PUC-SP, São Paulo, SP, BR.
authors.forename: Marcos
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Inocencio
authors.affiliation: Department of Economics, Pontifícia Universidade Católica de São Paulo - PUC-SP, São Paulo, SP, BR.
authors.forename: Maria Cristina Sanches
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Amorim
authors.affiliation: Pontifícia Universidade Católica de São Paulo -PUC-SP, São Paulo, SP, BR.
authors.forename: Arnoldo Jose de Hoyos
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Guevara
authors.affiliation: Pontifícia Universidade Católica de São Paulo - PUC-SP, São Paulo, SP, BR.
authors.forename: Bruna de
authors.initials: Bd
authors.lastname: Vivo