title: General practitioner prescribing patterns in Babol city, Islamic Republic of Iran.
abstract: To determine patterns of prescribing in Iranian primary care, we analysed 4000 randomly selected prescriptions from 52 general practitioners (GPs) in Babol city during 1999-2000. The mean number of drugs prescribed per encounter was 4.4 +/- 1.7, with 98% prescribed by generic name. The most commonly prescribed items were non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (62.9% of encounters) and antibiotics (61.9%), followed by central nervous system drugs, gastrointestinal tract drugs, corticosteroids, vitamins and cardiovascular system drugs respectively. Injections were prescribed in 58.0% of encounters. Female and male doctors had significantly different antibiotic prescribing patterns. Our study confirms the tendency of GPs to overprescribe.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, Babol, Islamic Republic of Iran.
authors.forename: A A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Moghadamnia
authors.forename: M R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Mirbolooki
authors.forename: M B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Aghili
mesh_terms: D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000894:Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002317:Cardiovascular Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002491:Central Nervous System Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D011307:Drug Prescriptions / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D004363:Drug Utilization / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D016568:Drugs, Generic / Q000627:therapeutic use; D005194:Family Practice / Q000193:education / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D005765:Gastrointestinal Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D018166:Health Care Reform; D006302:Health Services Research; D006801:Humans; D007492:Iran; D008297:Male; D008485:Medical Audit; D020380:Needs Assessment; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians' / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011320:Primary Health Care / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D019984:Quality Indicators, Health Care / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012621:Seasons; D012737:Sex Factors; D019037:Urban Health Services / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D000894:Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal; D002317:Cardiovascular Agents; D002491:Central Nervous System Agents; D016568:Drugs, Generic; D005765:Gastrointestinal Agents