Perceptions and Attitudes of Hospital' Prescribers towards Drug Information Sources and Prescribing Practices

Abstract Healthcare professionals use a variety of drug information sources to fulfill their clinical needs and medical practice. The aim of present study was to assess the sources of drug information among hospital' prescribers and evaluate their prescribing behavior in Saudi hospitals. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among randomly selected hospital' prescribers using a self-administered questionnaire. The response rate to the survey was 64.29%, with a ratio of 76.44% male and 23.56% female. The internet 137(60.89%) and textbooks 86(38.22%) were the prevalent sources for drug information used. Up-To-Date 107(47.56%), Medscape 105(46.67%) and FDA 74(32.88%) were the common electronic drug sources used. About 151(67.11%) of hospital' prescribers considered the pharmacist as a reliable drug information source. The most favored drug requests by hospital' prescribers from the pharmacists were drug alternatives 110(48.89%) followed by drug interactions 94(41.78%), side effects 78(34.67%) and indications 60(26.67%). Therapeutic efficacy 168(74.67%) and drug availability 73(32.44%) were the main factors contributed to the selection of drugs. This study shows some differences in hospital prescribers' perceptions of sources of drug information depending upon their background and clinical practice. Therefore, knowing appropriate drug information used by hospital' prescribers is fundamental for drug efficacy and safety in clinical practice.

Prescripción de ciprofloxacino por vía parenteral en pacientes ingresados en los servicios de Medicina Interna y Caumatología de un hospital general / Parenteral prescription of ciprofloxacin in patients admitted to the Internal Medicine and Caumatology services of a general hospital

Se realizó un estudio observacional descriptivo y transversal de 76 pacientes ingresados en los servicios de Medicina Interna y Caumatología del Hospital General Docente Dr Juan Bruno Zayas Alfonso de Santiago de Cuba durante el 2012, para evaluar los conocimientos, el desempeño y la satisfacción de 22 profesionales que prescribieron ciprofloxacino por vía parental. Los conocimientos y la satisfacción fueron evaluados a través de un examen de conocimientos y una encuesta de satisfacción, respectivamente; el desempeño, a partir de la información obtenida de las historias clínicas, relacionadas con tres criterios: individualización del tratamiento, esquema terapéutico y combinaciones medicamentosas. Para cada criterio se establecieron indicadores y estándares. Los prescriptores presentaron conocimientos adecuados sobre el medicamento en cuestión; sin embargo, el desempeño y la satisfacción de estos resultaron inadecuados. Se considera necesario realizar una intervención en aras de revertir las deficiencias identificadas y contribuir a elevar la calidad de la prescripción de medicamentos en ambos servicios de salud

A descriptive, cross-sectional and observational study of 76 patients admitted to the Internal Medicine and Caumatology services of Dr Juan Bruno Zayas Alfonso Teaching General Hospital was carried out in Santiago de Cuba during 2012, to evaluate the knowledge, performance and satisfaction of 22 professionals who prescribed parental ciprofloxacin. The knowledge and satisfaction were evaluated through a knowledge examination and a survey of satisfaction, respectively; the performance was evaluated, starting from the information obtained from the medical records, related to 3 criteria: individualization of the treatment, therapeutic schedule and medication combinations. For each opinion, indicators and standards were established. The prescribers presented appropriate knowledge on the specific medication; however, the performance and satisfaction of them were inadequate. It is necessary to carry out an intervention to revert the identified deficiencies and contribute to elevate the quality of the medications prescription in both health services