title: Training on the Practical Approach to Lung Health: effect on drug prescribing in PHC settings in Jordan.
abstract: This study assessed whether training physicians on the Practical Approach to Lung Health (PAL) reduces drug prescribing and the cost of drugs prescribed to respiratory patients in the primary health care setting. Data were compared before and after training general practitioners on standard guidelines for case management of respiratory conditions in primary care. A total of 56 general practitioners practising in 25 health centres in 3 out of 12 governorates of Jordan participated in both the baseline survey (n = 6260 respiratory patients) and the impact survey (n = 2709 patients). Training in PAL decreased by 12.2% the number of drugs prescribed per patient, increased the prescription of inhaled medications and reduced the mean cost of a drug prescription per patient by 8.7%.
authors.affiliation: National Tuberculosis Control Programme, Ministry of Health, Amman, Jordan.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Abu Rumman
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ottmani
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Abu Sabra
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Baghdadi
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Seita
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Blanc
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D016527:Drug Costs / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011307:Drug Prescriptions / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D004363:Drug Utilization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D004502:Education, Medical, Continuing / Q000458:organization & administration*; D005194:Family Practice / Q000193:education / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D005260:Female; D019983:Guideline Adherence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006801:Humans; D007597:Jordan / Q000453:epidemiology; D008171:Lung Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians' / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011320:Primary Health Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D015397:Program Evaluation; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric