FACTORS AFFECTING DRUG PRESCRIBING BEHAVIOUR OF RESIDENT PHYSICIANS: THE CASE OF ADDIS ABABA UNIVERSITY BLACK LION SPECIALIZED HOSPITAL

Abstract

prescribing behavior. A validated questionnaire was distributed to 199 resident physicians’ in Addis Ababa Black Lion Specialized Hospital by using convenience sample and response rate was 93.97% ;Descriptive statistics, correlation and multiple regression analysis is used to fulfill the research objective .The findings indicated that drug price awareness, physicians knowledge and experience ,drug characteristics factors had statistically significant positive effect on physicians’ drug prescribing behavior where as patient’s expectation and pharmaceutical marketing strategies were not shown to be statistically significant ,and the most important influential factor was physicians knowledge and experience .Based on the research findings, and in order to enhance the approaches that are directed to the resident physicians in Addis Ababa Black Lion specialized Hospital it was concluded that Ethiopian pharmaceutical companies should pay more attention to the mentioned factors in order to better affect physicians’ prescribing behavior in their favor. Providing better quality drug having better effectiveness, efficacy, patient compliance and less side effect with better availability enhance resident physicians’ drug prescription. For those companies which has price competitive advantage it seems important to increase physicians’ drug price awareness since respondents were seems price sensitive and those companies which have no price competitive advantage need to focus on other strategy like product differentiation or drug character advantages . Also ,it seems important that Addis Ababa university Black lion specialized Hospital give more attention to have computerized prescribing system having updated alternative drug choices with their corresponding price so that the physicians prescribe affordable and drug of choices for the patient . Moreover it seems important if the Hospital give more attention to educate and influence the resident physicians to consider basic, acceptable and important patient expectations in their treatment protocol.