Prescribing Behavior of Diabetes Treating Physicians

The prescribing behavior of physicians working in selected health centers of the Diabetic Association of Bangladesh were studied along with the factors affecting those behaviors in the present study. It was an observational study on 818 prescriptions given by 49 physicians working in 17 healthcare facilities. The M±SD of the total prescribing score (expressed as percentage) was 60±11. Physicians scoring around or below 60% belonged to lower age (<40 yrs), less experienced (<7yrs) and mid-position (SMOs) groups. Most of them also had public medical college background. Physicians with CCD had significantly higher score compared to the Non-CCD group (p<0.001). Appropriate change of drug (78.2%) and proper use of drug (99.1%) & brand (93.8%) were found rational but illegibility (77.6%) found in most of the prescriptions. A large proportion of prescriptions in Bangladesh related to diabetes care still lack standardization and acceptable quality. Non-drug related issues (like history, symptoms and dietary/exercise related advices) are the most neglected ones in a prescription. Targeted courses and training programs can improve the prescribing behavior of the diabetes treating physicians.