Abstract

THE CONCEPTS OF DRUG UTILIZATION STUDY

*Rajesh Kumar Suman, Ipseeta Ray Mohanty, Y A Deshmukh

ABSTRACT

Drug Utilization study is very important topic to evaluate rational drug prescribing. Aspire of the Drug utilization studies (DUS) is to appraise factors related to the prescribing, dispensing, administering and taking of medication. Drug utilization studies aim to evaluate factors related to the prescribing, dispensing, administering and taking of medication, and its associated events (either beneficial or adverse).Since the early 1960’s the interest in Drug Utilization Studies has been increasing, first with market-only purposes, then for evaluating the quality of medical prescription and comparing patterns of use of specific drugs. The ultimate purposes of drug utilization studies areto contribute to the optimal quality of drug therapy by identifying, documenting, analyzing problems in drug utilization and monitoring the consequences of interventions. Different types of drug utilization studies can be conducted and various methods can be used. The increasing importance of drug utilization studies as a valuable investigation resource in pharmacoepidemiology has been bridging it with other health related areas, such as public health, pharmacovigilance, pharmacoeconomics, eco-pharmacovigilance or pharmacogenetics .

Keywords: Drug Utilization Study, Pharmacoepidemiology, Data sources, Type of DUS.