title: Prescription pattern for treatment of hemorrhoids under the universal coverage policy of Thailand.
abstract: The Universal Coverage Policy (UCP) or "30 Baht Scheme" was launched in Thailand in 2001. The policy caused a cutback in the budgets of all public hospitals and health service centers. Traditional medicine was then viewed as an alternative to save costs. This study examines whether this had any influence on hemorrhoid treatment prescription patterns, ratio of traditional/modern medicine, or the cost of hemorrhoid treatment after the UCP was implemented at a community hospital. The traditional medicine prescribed was Petch Sang Kart and the modern alternative was Proctosedyl. All hemorrhoid prescriptions at a community hospital from October 2000 to January 2003 were surveyed. Segmented Regression Analysis was applied to evaluate prescription trends, the ratios between the types of medicine, and the hemorrhoid treatment cost. A total of 256 prescriptions were analyzed. The average number of traditional medicine prescriptions per month were more than modern medicine (41 versus 16). During the study period, the trend of modern medicine use and the treatment cost was decreased (p < 0.01). The ratio of traditional/modern medicine increased 0.2 times (p = 0.02).
authors.affiliation: Institute of Health Research, Bangkok, Thailand. orapin.c@chula.ac.th
authors.forename: Orapin C
authors.initials: OC
authors.lastname: Laosee
authors.forename: Nopporn
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Pathanapornpandh
authors.forename: Chitr
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Sitthi-amorn
authors.forename: Jiraporn
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Khiewyoo
authors.forename: Ratana
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Somrongthong
authors.forename: Namthip
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Dulyavoranun
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002648:Child; D003151:Community Health Centers / Q000191:economics; D003992:Dibucaine / Q000627:therapeutic use; D004338:Drug Combinations; D011307:Drug Prescriptions / Q000191:economics*; D004929:Esculin / Q000627:therapeutic use; D005260:Female; D005601:Framycetin / Q000627:therapeutic use; D017048:Health Care Costs / Q000639:trends*; D006484:Hemorrhoids / Q000188:drug therapy*; D006801:Humans; D006854:Hydrocortisone / Q000627:therapeutic use; D008297:Male; D008519:Medicine, Traditional; D008875:Middle Aged; D013785:Thailand / Q000453:epidemiology; D019472:Universal Health Insurance / Q000191:economics*
chemical_list: D004338:Drug Combinations; D004929:Esculin; D005601:Framycetin; C056407:Proctosedyl; D003992:Dibucaine; D006854:Hydrocortisone