Table 5.
Indicators (mean ± SD) of outpatient medicines prescribing for routine adult outpatient consultations*
| Shandong | Gansu | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hospital level (number of Rx) | Primary | Secondary | Tertiary | Primary | Secondary | Tertiary |
| (982) | (1687) | (800) | (414) | (1078) | (495) | |
| Average number of medicines/Rx | 3.2 ± 0.7 | 2.5 ± 0.4 | 2.0 ± 0.3 | 5.3 ± 2.0 | 3.9 ± 1.1 | 2.6 ± 0.5 |
| Average cost/Rx (RMB) ** | 38.6 ± 19.3 | 78.7 ± 27.5 | 101.3 ± 34.1 | 34.4 ± 28.3 | 48.2 ± 23.8 | 76.3 ± 16.0 |
| % Rx with EM | 72.5 ± 30.3 | 73.3 ± 19.3 | 63.8 ± 15.5 | 85.6 ± 25.3 | 78.1 ± 15.0 | 70.0 ± 13.1 |
| % Rx with reimbursable medicines | 76.4 ± 33.2 | 78.0 ± 17.0 | 79.3 ± 6.4 | 83.7 ± 26.3 | 77.4 ± 14.7 | 80.2 ± 12.7 |
| % Rx with antibiotics | 53.9 ± 9.1 | 45.9 ± 11.9 | 33.6 ± 14.0 | 77.2 ± 18.5 | 59.6 ± 8.7 | 40.7 ± 6.0 |
| % Rx with injections | 41.7 ± 11.2 | 31.8 ± 16.3 | 27.4 ± 16.3 | 61.1 ± 28.5 | 36.6 ± 14.0 | 22.3 ± 9.4 |
Rx = prescription
* Pediatric, adult emergency care, and infectious disease clinic consultations were excluded
** On Jan 1, 2007, near the time of the survey, the conversion rate was RMB 7.80 to USD 1.00.