Information systems for evaluating the quality of prescribing

OBJECTIVE: An important purpose of drug usage evaluation (DUE) is to provide feedback to physicians on population-based prescribing patterns and problems. This article has four objectives: (1) to outline prescribing information requirements for a computerized information system in terms of the variables needed for DUE, (2) to describe existing computerized information systems that collect and organize prescribing data, (3) to assess existing systems in terms of their capacity to provide the requirements outlined in our first objective, and (4) to suggest design changes to existing systems that would improve the DUE process. ANALYSIS: There are several existing DUE information systems that have some capacity to evaluate the quality of prescribing in specific populations (e.g., veterans, public and private insured groups, hospital service areas). Shortcomings of most DUE information systems include patient identification problems, defects in database design, and lack of software to identify prescribing problems and perform statistical analysis. CONCLUSIONS: DUE information systems could be used and upgraded to enable physicians to develop more rational prescribing rules from population data that would improve the quality of prescribing.