Médecine tropicale : revue du Corps de santé colonial
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Prescribing treatment is the last act of a medical visit. A prescription is a written document that engages the medical and legal responsibility not only of the physician but of all those subsequently involved in its execution. In countries with weaker economies and more limited health care insurance the costs of filling a prescription can place a heavy financial burden on the families. ⋯ The cost was 50% lower at the hospital pharmacy. All prescribers and in particular medical students should receive instruction in prescription writing. Careful selection of brand and non-brand-name drugs in agreement with practitioners should achieve further reductions in the cost of filling a prescription in hospital pharmacy.
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Comparative Study
[Cost effectiveness of local regional anesthesia in a remote area].
Loco-regional anesthesia techniques are considered as a simple and economic solution to problems posed by anesthesia in developing countries. However the cost benefits of some techniques are reduced by cardiovascular effects that affect the quantity and nature of peroperative vascular filling usually necessary during general anesthesia. The purpose of the present study was to ascertain the relative costs of these methods by comparing the quantity of crystalloid solution and blood administered during loco-regional anesthesias and general anesthesias in a general hospital center in Africa. ⋯ These findings indicate that loco-regional anesthesia performed under standardized conditions does not significantly change the quantity and nature of preoperative filling usually necessary during general anesthesia. Thus these techniques can be considered as cost-effective in developing countries even though the long period necessary for practitioners to learn them results in a transient increase in cost. A prospective study by surgical groups with experience using loco-regional anesthesia is needed to confirm this study.