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Comparison of rational pharmacotherapy decision-making competence of general practitioners with intern doctors

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An Erratum to this article was published on 22 July 2004

Abstract

Objective

The aim of this study was to compare rational pharmacotherapy decision-making competency of interns (final-year medical students) who had received rational pharmacotherapy education (RPE), with their classmates at another medical school and general practitioners (GPs) who had not been exposed to RPE.

Design

A written, objective, structured clinical examination (OSCE), consisting of open and structured questions, was given to all participants. The participants were expected to make a treatment plan and prescribe for simple, uncomplicated β-hemolytic streptococcal tonsillitis and mild-to-moderate essential hypertension patients, explain their proposed treatment plans and reasons affecting their drug choice. After the OSCE, a questionnaire to assess knowledge of the rational use of drugs was given to the participants.

Results

Fifty RPE(+) interns, 54 RPE(−) interns and 53 GPs participated in the study. Mean scores of RPE(+) interns were higher than those of GPs, which were in turn found to be higher than those of RPE(−) interns for all cases. The RPE(+) interns scored the highest regarding all components of rational pharmacotherapy process for all cases of both indications. However, participants in all groups had higher scores for the structured questions compared with the corresponding open ones for both diseases. Prescription analysis also revealed better results for RPE(+) interns regarding the number of drugs/prescription and treatment costs.

Conclusion

The present study demonstrated that the final-year medical students (interns) markedly benefited from undergraduate RPE at the medical school in developing rational prescribing skills compared with their classmates from a medical school with traditional pharmacology education. Interestingly, they got higher scores than not only RPE(−) interns, but also than the GPs participating in this study, indicating the urgent need for continuous medical education programs in this field throughout the country for practicing GPs.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Dr. Yunus Emre Kocabaşoğlu for his advice regarding the study design, Dr. Ali Serdar Fak and Dr. Lütfiye Mülazımoğlu for their help in preparation of the OSCE answer keys. This study was supported by a grant from Marmara University Scientific Research Projects Commission (2000-Sağlık HEA-078/131200). Part of this work was presented at the 6th Congress of the European Association for Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Istanbul. Anyone who wants more information about this study, including the opportunity to see the entire questionnaire, is welcome to contact the corresponding author via e-mail.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pharmacology and Clinical Pharmacology, Marmara University School of Medicine, Istanbul, Turkey

    A. Akici, M. Z. Gören, A. Karaalp, D. Demir, Ü. Uğurlu & Ş. Oktay

  2. Department of Public Health, Marmara University School of Medicine, Istanbul, Turkey

    S. Kalaça

  3. Department of Pharmacology and Clinical Pharmacology, Istanbul University, Cerrahpaşa School of Medicine, Istanbul, Turkey

    A. G. Akkan

  4. Omega-CRO, Tophanelioğlu Cad., Petek Sitesi A5 Blok, D.9, Altunizade 34718 , Istanbul, Turkey

    Ş. Oktay

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  1. A. Akici
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  2. S. Kalaça
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  5. A. Karaalp
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  7. Ü. Uğurlu
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Correspondence to Ş. Oktay.

Additional information

An erratum to this article can be found at http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00228-004-0805-5

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Akici, A., Kalaça, S., Gören, M.Z. et al. Comparison of rational pharmacotherapy decision-making competence of general practitioners with intern doctors. Eur J Clin Pharmacol 60, 75–82 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00228-004-0751-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00228-004-0751-2

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