[Patterns of medical prescriptions for individuals with diabetes mellitus type 2 at the primary care level]

Abstract

A cross-sectional study was conducted to investigate the prescription patterns of general practitioners for non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus patients in Guadalajara, Mexico. Two hundred and forty medical prescriptions were evaluated. These were indicated by 16 primary care physicians. Results showed that physicians prescribed pharmacologic agents in 93 per cent of the cases, dietary control in 73 per cent, and physical exercise in 48 per cent. A combination therapy of these three measures was employed in 40 per cent of the patients, but the combination regimen of diet and exercise was given only to 3 per cent of the patients. Data showed significant differences in prescribing patterns according to gender of physicians; male physicians prescribed the three measures by more than 10 per cent; On the contrary, female physicians prescribed the drug as the only therapy 27 per cent of the time. The proportion of prescribing diet and exercise measures increased with more years of professional experience. These observations support the findings that prescription patterns by primary care physicians do not meet the criteria currently recommended by international committees for diabetes therapy. We discuss some implications for the metabolic control of the disease and the quality of medical care.