how do doctors make decisions about what drugs to prescibe?

Question

Are there studies, best practices on this information?

Answer 1

I think doctors give weight to clinical trials and studies presented by pharmaceutical marketing representatives. Many doctors prescribe based on drug formularies that patients have with their insurance carriers. If the patient tells the doctor they want a medication available generically, that also guides the physician. I believe their are many factors involved.

Answer 2

expanding on the Doctor's response, the insurance part is handled by the pharmacy. When a doctor prescribes a medication like Adderall (brand name), the pharmacy can ask the patient if they want generic (which is cheaper than the brand). For Adderall the generic is Oxycodone....Cheaper = insurance covers or it's just cheaper overall.

And yes, there are many books you can read on different types of medications. If you ask a health professional, then they can help you out a lot in finding sources.

Answer 3

Prescribing is based on the problem the patient has, other drugs the patient is on, other health problems the patient has, the doctor's experience with the various drugs, the patient's insurance, ans what has worked for the patient in the past.

We learn about different drugs from journals, meetings and colleagues.

It has very little to do with which drug rep brought lunch or gave us a pen.

Answer 4

Your doctor will decide which drug to prescribe based on what you're taking the drug for. For example, do you need an antibiotic, a drug for high blood pressure, high cholesterol, thyroid, etc...??? Your doctor will choose a drug based on which drugs are known to be effective for your condition. Also, doctors prescribe drugs that are advertised or pushed by the drug manufacturers. Sometimes a doctor will prescribe a drug because the patient specifically asked for it.

Answer 5

Often they have developed their own list of drugs they like and prescribe them. Or now if a patient comes in and asks for one, likely they will get that. The drug companies know this and the reason for all the drug ads aimed at consumers. Also many doctors get their drug info from the drug reps. who give them samples for their patients.

Answer 6

It depends on the patient and their history. Some people have allergies to certain medications. There are so many out there. They start with the most common used ones. There are name brand and generic. The generic work the same, they are just cheaper in price.

Answer 7

First of all the diagnosis, pt past history , what drugs have they failed, their insurance plan formulary. Other conditions the pt may have is also important. Past prescribing history, seeing what effects drugs have on the pt.

Answer 8

My doctor uses a highly advanced method of evaluation and diagnoses. He then uses a dart board to get it right. Seriously, in Australia there is a book called MIMS.

Answer 9

Based on what is wrong with the patient, and patient views.

Yes.