[Analysis of drug consumption with indicators of prescription quality].
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the quality of pharmaceutical prescription by means of various indicators.


METHODS
Cross-sectional, retrospective study.


METHODS
Non-hospital prescription in all the INSALUD provinces, except Ceuta and Melilla, for a year (1997).


METHODS
Different quality indicators were analysed for the following groups of medicines: oral diabetes drugs, anti-platelet aggregation drugs, anti-hypertension drugs, non-steroidal anti-inflammatories, tranquillisers and hypnotic drugs, antibiotics, anti-asthmatic drugs and the omeprazol efficiency indicator. Consumption was expressed in defined daily doses (DDD) and in DDD per 1000 persons and per day (DID). A prescription quality indicator was indicated on the basis of weighing up the indicators.


RESULTS
The sulphonylurea drugs varied greatly (15-56%) and deviated negatively a lot from the standard value. AAS and ticlopidine made up 74% of the anti-platelet aggregation drugs. Consumption of calcium antagonists was three times greater than of beta-blockers. Captopril and enalapril were 65% of the ACE inhibitors. Ibuprofen, naproxen and diclofenac made up between 34 and 50% of the NSAIDs. The DID of hypnotics was 44 against a standard figure of 24. Use of first-level antibiotics was 77%. Inhaled adrenergic drugs came to 80% of total anti-asthmatic drugs. The cost of omeprazol treatment per day was 267 pesetas/DID, which was inefficient in comparison with the standard of 190. All provinces had a prescription quality indicator above six out of ten.


CONCLUSIONS
The ACE inhibitors, anti-asthmatic drugs and antibiotics were close to the standard. The use of sulphonylurea drugs, beta-blockers, NSAIDs and hypnotics was a long way from standard. The prescription level was acceptable in the different provinces.
Gómez Juanes
V
V
Subdirección General de Atención Primaria, INSALUD. vgomez@insalud.es
Candás Villar
M A
MA
Fidalgo González
S
S
Armesto Gómez
J
J
Calvo Alcántara
M J
MJ
de Marino Gómez-Sandoval
M A
MA
Vicens Caldentey
C
C
D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D011307:Drug Prescriptions / Q000592:standards* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D011320:Primary Health Care; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013030:Spain