Medical Inspection – Health Blog

Of the 500 surveys distributed, 15 had the wrong address or could not be delivered for some other reason and were therefore omitted from the survey population. Overall, 272 (56.1%) of the 485 usable surveys were completed and returned. More than half of the respondents were women, almost two-thirds had at least 16 years of experience, and most had a master’s degree (Table 1). About half of the respondents were at the executive level of management, and a similar proportion were working in the hospital setting (Table 1). The demographic characteristics of the respondents were very similar to those of the entire CCHSE membership, except that a greater proportion of the survey population had completed a master’s program (72.0% versus 58.0%) (Ron Fraser, Coordinator, Information Systems, CCHSE; personal communication in writing; September 2003). The survey respondents were geographically dispersed across Canada, with Ontario accounting for the most respondents from any single area (almost 43% of the respondents). Fifty-six percent of the respondents had earned the Certified Health Executive designation, similar to the percentage of the total CCHSE member­ship with this designation. Men were significantly more likely than women to have earned this designation (X2 = 4.19, p = 0.04).

Perceived Importance of Factors Influencing the Demand for Pharmaceuticals

Table 1. Demographic Characteristics of Survey Respondents

Changes in physician prescribing habits, introduction of innovative therapies, and changes in the use of existing medications were perceived as the 3 most important factors influencing the demand for pharmaceuticals (Table 2). Use of drugs in lieu of nondrug treatment, academic (counter) detailing, and direct-to-consumer advertising were perceived as the 3 least important factors influencing such demand.
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Table 2. Mean Rank of Factors Influencing Demand for Pharmaceuticals (n = 272 Respondents)

Information SourcesNone of the 12 potential sources of information about pharmaceuticals and pharmaceutical policy listed in the survey were identified as “frequently used” by all respondents; however, for 7 of the 12 sources the mean score was 2.0 or higher (on a scale of 1 to 3, where 1 = not used at all and 3 = frequently used) (Table 3). The sources with the highest mean scores (indicating most frequent use), included the pharmacy department in the respondent’s organization, the Internet, and Health Canada. Voluntary health agencies, the Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health, and the Cochrane Collaboration were used least frequently.
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Table 3. Mean Rank of Sources of Information for Pharmaceuticals and Pharmaceutical Policy (n = 272 Respondents)

Perceived Importance of Methods to Optimize Pharmaceutical Use

From a list of 12 methods presented to respondents, clinical practice guidelines, disease management programs, and formulary management were perceived to be most important in optimizing the use of pharmaceuticals, whereas prior authorization, patient copayments, and tiered formularies were the least important (Table 4).
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Table 4. Perceived Importance of Methods of Optimizing Use of Pharmaceuticals

Related Posts:

• Perceptions and Opinions of Canadian Hospital Executives: DISCUSSION part 2
• Perceptions and Opinions of Canadian Hospital Executives: DISCUSSION
• Perceptions and Opinions of Canadian Hospital Executives: RESULTS part 2
• Perceptions and Opinions of Canadian Hospital Executives: METHODS