Rational use of drugs in healthcare services: a sample of tertiary hospital

This study aimed at evaluating physicians' attitudes towards the rational use of drugs (RUD) at a training and research hospital.

This cross-sectional study was conducted in a training and research hospital affiliated with the Ministry of Health between December 2014 and April 2015. All 424 active-duty physicians were asked to participate in the survey study. Of these physicians, 193 (45.5%) volunteered to respond to a 64-item survey. A total of 193 (45.5%) physicians volunteered to participate in the study. The chi-squared test, ANOVA, and multiple logistic regression analysis were used for the evaluation of the study data.

Of the physicians who participated in the study, 58.0% were male. Prescriptions were dispensed for 52.73% (± 27.44) of the patients, with a mean of 2.67±0.98 items per prescription. The rational use of drugs was defined as prescribing an effective drug for the patient (85.4%), prescribing an appropriate drug for the patient (84.9%), and prescribing a safe drug for the patient (77.2%). Compared to residents, the prescription preferences of specialists were affected 2-fold by follow-up visit (p=0.010, β 0.694, CI 1.180 3.396), 1-fold by patient examination percentage (p=0.002, β 0.022, CI 1.008 1.037), and 3.5-fold by prescribing iron supplements (p=0.001, β 1.274, CI 1.644 7.774) (R2 0.259, p=0.001).

The results of the study showed that tertiary hospital specialists and residents have similar attitudes towards patients, their prescribing preferences and RUD knowledge level. This study provides comprehensive information on physicians' attitudes towards RUD.