[Effect of workload on physicians' drug prescribing].
The possible effect of workload on the prescribing of drugs by physicians was studied in 10 primary care pediatricians during a 1-month period. The intraphysician variability revealed a positive correlation (p less than 0.05) between workload and prescription of antibiotics in the case of 2 of the physicians and a negative correlation (p less than 0.05) between workload and prescription of all drug items in another physician. The prescribing of the other 7 was not affected by changes in daily workload. The interphysician variability study revealed a significantly increased rate of prescription of analgesics/antipyretics by physicians with increased monthly workload (r = 0.91, p less than 0.001). These results suggest that although the prescribing habits of a minority of physicians may be affected by their workloads, prescription rates remain stable for the individual physician on most occasions. However, physicians with high workloads tend to prescribe more analgesics/antipyretics than those with low workloads.
Ilan
M
M
Pediatrics Dept., Hadassah-University Hospital, Mount Scopus, Jerusalem.
Amitai
Y
Y
Lubovski
E
E
D000700:Analgesics / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000894:Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D011307:Drug Prescriptions; D004363:Drug Utilization; D006801:Humans; D010372:Pediatrics; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians'; D016526:Workload
D000700:Analgesics; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D000894:Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal