title: Prescribing patterns in primary health care in Taiwan.
abstract: To identify the prescribing patterns in public group practice centers (GPCs), 84,453 prescription sheets written by primary care physicians in 168 GPCs during the period from December 7-12, 1992, were collected and analyzed. The average number of drugs per script was 4.3 and the ratio of drug to total medical expense was 44%. The 5 most common diagnoses were, in a descending order, upper respiratory tract infection, skeletomuscular and joint disease, hypertension, functional gastrointestinal disorder (including peptic ulcer) and diabetes mellitus. The top 5 most commonly dispensed drug categories were antacids and anti-ulcer drugs, anti-cough and anti-cold preparations, vitamins, simple analgesics and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, accounting for 48.8% of total prescriptions. In view of the frequency of relevant diagnoses, the overuse of antacids, vitamins, intravenous nutrient and electrolyte solutions, anti-cold preparations and antibiotics was apparent, as was that of drugs of questionable pharmacological value. These data indicate that polypharmacy is a widespread phenomenon and confirms our long-term concern over irrational drug use in GPCs in Taiwan. Both administrative and educational intervention should be implemented to improve prescribing quality at the primary health care level.
authors.affiliation: Bureau of Health Promotion and Protection, Department of Health Executive Yuan, Taiwan, R.O.C.
authors.forename: M S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Lai
authors.forename: C S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Chu
authors.forename: S H
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: M S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Lin
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology; D011307:Drug Prescriptions / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005194:Family Practice / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D005767:Gastrointestinal Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology; D017408:Guidelines as Topic; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology; D007592:Joint Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians'; D011320:Primary Health Care / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data* / Q000639:trends; D012141:Respiratory Tract Infections / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology; D013624:Taiwan