Knowledge, attitudes and practice preference regarding drug prescriptions of resident dental doctors: A quantitative study.

BACKGROUND: There has been an increasing need to examine undergraduate dental education in prescribing to confirm whether it is establishing the goal of producing safe and rational prescribers. Prescribing by dental doctors after graduation is influenced by a variety of factors: the different teaching approaches of the professors at the clinics and in the pharmacology course, fellow colleagues and even the information provided by the pharmaceutical industry.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to assess the prescription knowledge, attitude, preference and common errors made by junior resident dental doctors in the dental department of two medical colleges and hospitals in India.

METHODS: Dental graduates (n = 70) who served as junior resident doctors at dental departments and graduated from various dental colleges in India, participated in the study. A survey was conducted among 70 junior resident dental doctors in the dental department, applying a previously validated questionnaire consisting of open-ended questions. The knowledge, attitude and practice preference of resident doctors regarding drug prescription and common errors made by them were analyzed and reviewed.

RESULTS: The most frequent response to each question was considered the most significant. The most common reason for prescribing medication was infection (n = 33, 47.14%) and the most widely prescribed antibiotic was amoxicillin (n = 29, 41.42%). The most frequent error reported by resident doctors was lack of knowledge about drug posology (n = 31, 44.28%). Maximum number of junior doctors acquired the information for prescribing drugs from their faculty (n = 33, 47.14%). Around 45.71% dental doctors had no knowledge about the WHO Guide to Good Prescribing. About 50- 60% doctors had knowledge about the dose, frequency, duration and route of administration of the drug prescribed. While prescribing drugs to the patient, 25.71% doctors explain the disease and treatment properly to the patient; 24.28% doctors do not criticize other doctors, and 10% doctors address the patient by name.

CONCLUSION: The results of this study indicate that resident dental doctors' knowledge, attitudes and behavior about the drug prescription need to be improved. More studies are needed to determine whether this issue affects the quality of patient care and the effectiveness and safety of treatments.