Prescription of Digestive System Drugs to the Patients with No Digestive Symptoms

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: In Korea, doctors are tend to prescribe digestive system drugs to the patients who have no digestive symptoms. The purpose of this study was to describe the prescription tendency toward digestive system drugs among residents of family practice. METHODS: Among outpatients who were consulted by residents of family practice in S hospital from Jan. 1995 to Jul. 1996, the patients without digestive symptoms were selected and their medical records were reviewed about prescribed drugs. RESULTS: The total number of eligible patients were 308. The number of residents who examined the eligible patients were 25 and they consulted average 12.3(S.D 5.1, range 521) patients. The proportion of patints who were given digestive system drugs was 43.2%. The proportions were 48.3%, 35.4% and 54.8% in patients who were examined by 1st, 2nd and 3rd grade reridents, respectively. There were no differences in the proportions between patients sex groups, among patients age groups, and also among groups of number of major drugs. The proportion was 58.6% in patients with common cold, 39.4% in patients with respiratory diseases other than common cold, 70.2% in patients with musculoskeletal diseases, 50.0% in patients with headache, 45.0% in patients with neurosis. The three most common categories of digestive system drugs were enzyme digestives, motility regulators and antacids. The proportion of total prices of digestive system drugs to total price of prescribed drugs was 19.8 % in all patients and 36.3% in patients who were given digestive system drugs. CONCLUSIONS: Residents of family practice in S hospital were tend to prescribe digestive system drugs to the patients who have no digestive symptoms and therefore there need more efforts to improve prescription behavior.