Majallah-i Dānishgāh-i ̒Ulūm-i Pizishkī-i Bābul (Jul 2000)
An analysis of prescription indices of Babol general practitioners prescriptions, 1999
Abstract
Objective: Drug usage has been increased in Iran during the last decade. In Iran improper drug supply has raised problems for the country. At present, there is no good outlook to improve the problem in future if the major reforms are not made. In this survey, we studied the General Practitioners’ (GPs) prescriptions for drug recommendation pattern and their problems in Babol. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study on 4000 prescriptions of 52 G.P.s during 1999. Chi-square test and ANOVA were used for data analysis. A difference with P<0.05 between groups at each point was considered statistically significant. Findings: In our study, the mean dosage form value was 4.45 items per prescription. Incompatibility of recommended drugs was seen in 30.4% of the prescriptions. 62.9% of the prescriptions had NSAIDs, 61.9% antibiotics, 37.7% CNS drugs, 27.3% GI drugs, 23.2% steroidal drugs, 19.9% infusion fluids, 19.8% vitamins and 12% cardiovascular drugs. The most common dosage forms were, in an order of tablet (81.4%), injection (58.4%), Syrup and Suspension (43.4%), Capsule (34.1%) and Cutaneous drugs (13.7%). Conclusion: According to the results, drug recommendation by the G.Ps is not favorable. Surely, the drug usage behavior people will not change if we don’t change our revenue. So, it is necessary to improve collaboration of the physicians and the pharmacists and to have education programs for the medical students and physicians on rational recommendation by education development centers.
