HOW COST EFFECTIVE IS THE TREATMENT? ARE PRESCRIBERS CONCERNED ?

Abstract

ABSTRACT Cost-effective treatment should be of primary concern to prescribers in poor countries like Nepal. Thepresent study was carried out at a tertiary care hospital in Nepal to find out the perception of prices ofcommonly prescribed drugs among prescribers. The participants selected randomly were directed to writein 10 minutes on a proforma, the generic name(s) and price of the brand preparation of 18 most commonlyused drugs listed under their brand name. The price of the drug was considered correct if the price mentioned was within a range of 20% above or below the brand price. Results indicated that the participants were aware of the composition of majority (80%) of the drugs, but were not aware of the prices of 81.80% of the drugs. No single participant mentioned the correct prices of all the drugs. Among the drug groups studied, the most accurate data was provided about composition (90.43%) and price (24.47%) of non steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). Only in 9.22% of brand preparations of antimicrobial agents (AMA), the prices were mentioned correctly. Hence, sensitisation of physicians about cost-effective treatment is of immense importance and to facilitate this, hospital authorities could provide prescribers with regularly updated price lists of commonly prescribed drugs and competitive prices of various brand preparations. Pharmacoeconomics may be introduced in the undergraduate curriculum which can be reinforced by continuing medical education. Key Words: Cost-effective, Pharmacoeconomics.