EVALUATION OF KNOWLEDGE AND AWARENESS OF THE PRESCRIBERS ABOUT FIXED DOSE COMBINATION: A CROSS SECTIONAL STUDY

Out of FDC available in the market very few are present in 'WHO essential drug list and 'national list of essential medicine.' FDC should be formulated and developed on the basis of comprehensive pharmacological principles. It is essential that prescriber should have knowledge about guidelines and pharmacological principles used to manufacture and market the FDC. Hence this study was conducted to evaluate the knowledge and awareness of the prescribers about the guidelines and pharmacological principles used to consider the FDC as rational. It was a cross-sectional, observational, study conducted in 100 prescribers. Only 20% prescribers knew that the FDC is considered as rational if the individual drugs in it acts by different mechanisms. 54% prescribers couldn't decide that the FDC is a new drug in spite of availability of the individual drugs in the market. Knowledge and awareness about the rational drug use is a prerequisite for universal health care and this necessarily constitutes evaluation of FDC of its rationality by the prescribers. It is observed that knowledge about FDC is lacking in prescribers. The new combinations are 'new drugs' and hence each FDC has to undergo clinical trials and safety studies to qualify for entering the market. Strict scrutiny of FDC in general and new FDC in particular becomes necessary. Undermining of this aspect affects access to the drugs in the developing country like ours. As patient's health lies in the hands of healthcare professionals, awareness of the prescribers about rational prescribing of FDC is essential and it should be included in the undergraduate teaching. This study recommends that there is urgent call to enhance prescriber's knowledge to critically appraise FDC. Further more effective legislation and its implementation is needed to circumvent availability of irrational FDC.