[Prescription habits in a primary health care district: approach to an indication-prescription study].

OBJECTIVE

To analyse the profile of medical prescription and prescription habits in the most common illnesses in a Primary Health Care district.

DESIGN

Descriptive crossover study.

SETTING

Algeciras-La Línea (Cádiz) Primary Care district.

MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN

RESULTS

A randomised sample of clinical histories stratified by months was selected. This included 338 Paediatrics cases (< 8 years old) and 665 general medical cases (> 8). The therapeutic groups most commonly prescribed for the children were R (45.7%) and J (27.1%) The therapeutic groups most used among the > 8 group were C (17.9%), R (14.8%), N (14.7%) and A (14.3%). Hypertension was the most common chronic pathology in this group (8.9%), treated most often by ACEIs (44.9%).

CONCLUSIONS

1) In our ambit, the most widespread pathology signified the greatest consumption of therapeutic groups. 2) The indication-prescription analysis detected prescription habits that need to be watched: the use of antibiotics and expectorants/mucolytics in ARI and the use of fixed-dose combinations which are hard to justify. Prescription habits in Hypertension treatment and Hyperlipidaemia also merit a consensus analysis.