Effect of publicly reporting performance data of medicine use on injection use: a quasi-experimental study

Inappropriate use of prescribing pharmaceuticals, particularly injections, not only affects the quality of medical care, but also leads to an increase in medical expenses. Publicly reporting performance data of medical care is becoming a common health policy tool adopted to supervise medical quality. To our knowledge, few studies about public reporting applied to medicine use have been reported. This study intended to introduce public reporting in the field of medicine use, and evaluate the effect of publicly reporting performance data of medicine use on the use of injections.

The research sites were 20 primary healthcare institutions in Q City, Hubei. By matching, the institutions were divided into the intervention group and control group. A quasi-experimental design was applied in this study. In the intervention group, the performance data of medicine use were publicly reported. The injection prescribing rates of the two groups before and after intervention were measured and compared. Difference-in-difference method and logistic regression were employed to estimate the effect of public reporting on injection use.

Public reporting led to a reduction of approximately 4% in the injection prescribing rate four months after intervention (OR = 0.96; 95%CI: 0.94, 0.97). The intervention effect was inconsistent in each month after intervention, and it was most positive in the second month after intervention (OR = 0.90; 95%CI: 0.89, 0.92).

In general, publicly reporting performance data of medicine use may have positive effects on injection use to some extent. Further research is needed to investigate the mechanism by which public reporting influences injection use. Comprehensive measures are also necessary to promote the rational use of injections.