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Table 2 Prescribing behavior of physicians

From: Factors influencing prescribing behaviour of physicians in Greece and Cyprus: results from a questionnaire based survey

  Which constitutes for you the basic criterion for selecting a drug?
  Greece Cyprus Difference p-value
Proven clinical effectiveness 94.85% 93.26% 1.59% 0.392
Pharmaceutical delivery mode 38.21% 9.84% 28.37% 0.000
Recommended daily dose 35.55% 4.15% 31.40% 0.000
Cost to the patient 41.86% 8.29% 33.57% 0.000
Patient preference 11.05% 0.52% 10.53% 0.000
Other 2.49% 3.63% -1.14% 0.406
  Which sources do you take into account in justifying your prescription choices?
  Greece Cyprus Difference p-value
Publications in medical journals 73.75% 58.55% 15.20% 0.000
Medical textbooks 60.71% 44.04% 16.67% 0.000
Medical congress announcements 70.27% 69.43% 0.84% 0.813
Pharmaceutical sales representatives 51.99% 61.14% -9.15% 0.016
Medical libraries and internet data bases 29.49% 28.50% 0.99% 0.757
Others 3.41% 0.52% 2.89% 0.000
  For what reasons do you search further information from the above sources on your prescription choice?
  Greece Cyprus Difference p-value
Dose 43.02% 41.45% 1.57% 0.668
Adverse drug reactions 81.48% 77.20% 4.28% 0.182
Interactions with other substances 67.11% 63.21% 3.90% 0.292
Provision during pregnacy 53.99% 56.48% -2.49% 0.514
Provision during breast feeding 50.91% 44.56% 6.35% 0.097
Liver-renal disorders 49.25% 55.96% -6.71% 0.079
Chronic disease 43.44% 21.24% 22.20% 0.000
  How important is the cost of drug in your prescription selection?
  Greece Cyprus Difference p-value
Highly important 15.95% 11.40% 4.55% 0.066
Important 46.59% 51.30% -4.71% 0.218
Not very important 25.83% 30.05% -4.22% 0.225
Not at all important 11.63% 7.25% 4.38% 0.035
  To which extend does the existence of patient insurance coverage, influence your selection?
  Greece Cyprus Difference p-value
Very much 20.97% 14.51% 6.46% 0.022
Enough 31.11% 23.32% 7.79% 0.021
Rather influence me 17.89% 26.94% -9.05% 0.000
Almost not all 17.14% 20.73% -3.59% 0.239
Not at all 12.90% 14.51% -1.61% 0.548
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BMC Health Services Research

ISSN: 1472-6963

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