At what point in price does the consumer choose to switch from the
name brand drug to a generic drug?

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Clarification of Question by brown_bear-ga on 03 May 2006 07:31 PDT

I'm looking for a research report, or a journal article on price elasticity
and prescription drugs.  I'm trying to figure out how price sensitive
consumers are to price changes in their medications.  At what point 
does a branded drug "lose" out to the generic drug?

In the UK you get what is on your prescription
- although a chemist (pharmacist) may tell you that it is the same as
something else if it is an OTC product

Mostly, consumers do not know that 'generics' exist
- and even if they did, they have little choice

In the UK, for quite some time, there has been pressure on doctors to
prescribe generics rather than brand names.

Short answer, you don't have price elasticity if you have no choice.