Identifying the Effects of the Rational Drug Use System Im-plementation on Medical Quality

Abstract

Irrational usage of drugs, such as the over usage or the inadequate usage of drugs and their misguided usage, is still an important problem plaguing the world's healthcare industry. The Rational Drug Use System (RDUS) provides doctors and patients with the functions of drug usage monitoring, medical information consultation and prescription medication support. From a comprehensive perspective of both the doctors and patients, our study explores the influence of RDUS implementation on medical quality. We collected data from a large 3A-class hospital in China, including data from two-years before and after the implementation of the RDUS. Through empirical research, it was verified that the implementation of the RDUS can effectively improve the medical quality. Specifically, the results indicated that the severity of a disease and the degree of irrational drug usage in hospital departments both played a positive regulatory role in the influence of the RDUS on medical quality. The results render certain theoretical and practical implications for standardizing rational drug usage behavior and promoting the effective application of the RDUS.