Rational use of medicines among resident doctors: A cross-sectional study

Background: Irrational use of prescribing medicines is on the rise due to many factors. The Resident doctors are exposed to variety of prescribing patterns in their daily clinical practice. Aim and Objectives: The study was planned to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practice of rational use of medicine among Resident doctors in a tertiary care teaching hospital. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional questionnaire-based study was conducted among Resident doctors at a tertiary care teaching hospital. Permission was obtained from the Institutional Ethics Committee. The participants were explained about the study and consent was taken. Identity of the residents was kept confidential. Questionnaire was designed to obtain information about the knowledge, attitude, and practice of Rational Use of Medicines (RUM). The data were recorded and analyzed, and the results are explained in frequency and percentage. Results: About 98% were aware about the term RUM and 96% practiced it, only 9% had National List of Essential Medicines of India available at their work place and 68% were able to correctly name the parts of the prescription slip. 88% respondents were aware about Essential Medicines (EM) and 86% prescribed them. Conclusion: In our study, majority of the Resident doctors were aware about EM and their importance. However, the level of understanding related to P-drug concept and existence of Essential Medicine List was limited. Thus, it is necessary to implement institutional guidelines to achieve more appropriate prescribing patterns, to promote prescription based on the list of EM.