Korean J Clin Pharm.  2019 Dec;29(4):231-237. 10.24304/kjcp.2019.29.4.231.

Comparative Analysis of Prescription for Splitted Tablet using the HIRA-NPS (Health Insurance Review & Assessment Service-National Patient Sample)

• Kwon HJ
• Jang KW
• Ha D

• KMID: 2470460
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.24304/kjcp.2019.29.4.231

Abstract

OBJECTIVE
The aim of this study was to analyze the status of split tablet prescription in South Korea.
METHODS
We conducted this analysis using 2016 National Patient Sample data from the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service. We computed split tablet prescription rates by sex and age and determined which medicine and medical specialties had the highest split tablet prescribing rates.
RESULTS
The proportion of prescriptions that included split tablets was 15.6% (n=6,687,35). The proportion of prescriptions that included split tablets was higher for females (56.7%) than for males (43.3%), while that of prescriptions including split tablets versus total prescriptions for each sex was higher for males (16.4%) than for females (14.9%) (p<0.001). In the age group under 19 years, the proportion of prescriptions including split tablets (53.7%) was more than half of the total. The highest tablet splitting rate was found to be 89.9% for formoterol fumarate (40 µg), and pseudoephedrine hydrochloride (60 mg) had the highest number of prescriptions. Pediatrics (65.6%) was the medical field with the highest rate of split tablet prescription.
CONCLUSION
Split tablets were most prescribed to pediatric patients. To minimize the use of split tablets, it is necessary to develop lower dose tablets and establish a policy that promotes prescription of these lower-dose tablets.

Keyword

Tablet; prescription; policy; patient general health data; dosage forms

MeSH Terms

Dosage Forms
Female
Formoterol Fumarate
Humans
Insurance*
Insurance, Health
Korea
Male
Pediatrics
Prescriptions*
Pseudoephedrine
Tablets
Dosage Forms
Formoterol Fumarate
Pseudoephedrine
Tablets