The Main Factors of Induced Demand for Medicine Prescription: A Qualitative Study
Azam Mohamadloo
PhD, Department of public Health, Faculty of Health, Kashan University of Medical Sciences, Kashan, Iran
: J Pharm Drug Deliv Res
Abstract
Statement of the Problem: Inappropriate request for health care services which are considered to be unnecessary for the patients has long been addressed by several writers. The hypothesis supplier induced demand refers to the induced demand initiated by the supplier who acts in his own economic self-interest rather than patient best interest. The purpose of the present qualitative study was to explore about induced demand and the relevant motivating factors associated with unnecessary prescriptions of medicine. Findings: In-depth interviews were used for data generation with a purposive sample of 20 participants who were selected according to their experience. The interviews were transcribed and analyzed. The key themes were identified, named and coded with a sample of quotation. In general, 24 sub-themes or factors were identified and classified into personal, community and institutional themes. Some important factors are asymmetric information, patient expectation, patient poor health literacy, physician's inadequate knowledge in medicine, neglecting patient rights, financial incentives, barriers in health insurance companies, reimbursement mechanism, marketing and advertising by pharmaceutical companies, Poor financial condition of pharmacies and social interactions. Conclusion & Significance: Our results showed that the induced demand for medicine is multi-factorial in a health system. Addressing these factors could lead to decrease unnecessary prescription of medicine by a multi-faceted strategy, including curriculum revision, health promotion, and policy making.
RECENT PUBLICATIONS:
1. Azam Mohamadloo, Ali Ramezankhani. Psychometric Design of a Questionnaire for the Prevention of Induced Demand for Medicine Prescription. Journal of Human, Environment, and Health Promotion. 2019; 5(3): 104-109
2. Azam Mohamadloo, Ali Ramezankhani, Saeed Zarein-Dolab, Jamshid Salamzadeh. The main factors of induced demand for medicine prescription: A qualitative study. Iranian Journal of Pharmaceutical Research. (2019), 18 (1): 479-487.
3. Azam Mohamadloo, Ali Ramezankhani, Saeed Zarein-Dolab, Jamshid Salamzadeh, Fatemeh Mohamadloo. A systematic review of Main Factors leading to Irrational Prescription of Medicine. Iranian Journal of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. 2017;11(2):elo242.
Biography
Azam Mohamadloo has completed her PhD at the age of 36 years from Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Science. She is the assistant proffesor of faculty of health, Kashan University of Medical Sciences, Kashan. She has published 14 papers in reputed journals.
