ĐÁNH GIÁ TÁC ĐỘNG CỦA COVID-19 LÊN TÌNH HÌNH SỬ DỤNG THUỐC NGOẠI TRÚ TẠI BỆNH VIỆN THỐNG NHẤT GIAI ĐOẠN 2016-2022

Abstract

Background: Evaluating drug use situation is both necessary and urgent in the current context. Objectives: Analyzing the drug use and the impact of COVID-19 on core drug use indicators at Thong Nhat Hospital from 2016 to 2022. Materials and methods: A quasi-experimental study using the interrupted time series analysis method was conducted on outpatient medical records at Thong Nhat Hospital from January 2016 to June 2022. Results: The study recorded 1,528,842 outpatient cases, with an average age of approximately 59 years. Patients were prescribed an average of 3.5 medications before the COVID-19 pandemic, which increased to a peak of 4.3 in August 2022. This value increased by 10% compared to the assumption of no COVID-19. The proportion of prescriptions containing antibiotics decreased significantly over time, and the appearance of COVID-19 reduced this indicator's statistical significance. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, medication costs fluctuated around 300,000 VND per treatment. By June 2021, costs gradually increased to a peak of nearly 800,000 VND in August 2021, before decreasing to around 450,000 VND in June 2022. Compared to the predicted cost without COVID-19, this value increased by approximately 32%. Conclusion: The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the level and trend of drug use indicators in hospitals. The study will be further expanded to analyze the impact of COVID-19 on other indicators as well as the causes of increased medication costs in recent outpatient cases.