Prescribing patterns in outpatient clinics of township hospitals in China: A comparative study before and after the 2009 health system reform

20Citations
Citations of this article
82Readers
Mendeley users who have this article in their library.

Abstract

Objective: China introduced a series of health reforms in 2009, including a national essential medicines policy and a medical insurance system for primary care institutions. This study aimed to determine the changing prescribing patterns associated with those reforms in township hospitals. Methods: A multi-stage stratified random cluster sampling method was adopted to identify 29 township hospitals from six counties in three provinces. A total of 2899 prescriptions were collected from the participating township hospitals using a systematic random sampling strategy. Seven prescribing indicators were calculated and compared between 2008 and 2013, assessing use of medicines (antibiotics and adrenal corticosteroids) and polypharmacy, administration route of medicines (injections), and affordability of medicines. Results: Significant changes in prescribing patterns were found. The average number of medicines and costs per-prescription dropped by about 50%. The percentage of prescriptions requiring antibiotics declined from 54% to 38%. The percentage of prescriptions requiring adrenal corticosteroid declined from 14% to 4%. The percentage of prescriptions requiring injections declined from 54% to 25%. Despite similar changing patterns, significant regional differences were observed. Conclusions: Significant changes in prescribing patterns are evident in township hospitals in China. Overprescription of antibiotics, injections and adrenal corticosteroids has been reduced. However, salient regional disparities still exist. Further studies are needed to determine potential shifts in the risk of the inappropriate use of medicines from primary care settings to metropolitan hospitals.

Cited by Powered by Scopus

10 years of health-care reform in China: progress and gaps in Universal Health Coverage

703Citations
N/AReaders
Get full text

Interventions to reduce antibiotic prescribing in LMICs: A scoping review of evidence from human and animal health systems

82Citations
N/AReaders
Get full text

"The biggest reform to China's health system": Did the zero-markup drug policy achieve its goal at traditional Chinese medicines county hospitals?

35Citations
N/AReaders
Get full text

Register to see more suggestions

Mendeley helps you to discover research relevant for your work.

Already have an account?

Cite

CITATION STYLE

APA

Ding, D., Pan, Q., Shan, L., Liu, C., Gao, L., Hao, Y., … Liu, G. (2016). Prescribing patterns in outpatient clinics of township hospitals in China: A comparative study before and after the 2009 health system reform. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 13(7). https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph13070679

Readers' Seniority

Tooltip

PhD / Post grad / Masters / Doc 30

64%

Researcher 13

28%

Lecturer / Post doc 4

9%

Readers' Discipline

Tooltip

Medicine and Dentistry 21

48%

Nursing and Health Professions 9

20%

Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceut... 8

18%

Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Bi... 6

14%

Save time finding and organizing research with Mendeley

Sign up for free