Abstract

The aims were to develop a new Prescription Quality Index (PQI) for the measurement of prescription
quality in chronic diseases. The PQI were developed based on 3 separate surveys and one pilot study. Criteria
were developed based on literature search, discussions and brainstorming sessions. Validity of the criteria was
examined using modified Delphi method. Pre testing was performed on 18 patients suffering from chronic
diseases. The modified version was then subjected to reviews by pharmacists in a survey. The score based PQI
with 22 criteria was then tested in 150 patients in Cardiology, Nephrology and Oncology departments. Results
were analyzed using SPSS version 12.0.1. Exploratory principal components analysis reveals that, multiple factors
contributing to Prescription Quality Index. Cronbach’s ᾳ for the entire 22 criteria was 0.60. The reliability was
good to moderate stability (intraclass correlation coefficient 0.76 and 0.52 respectively). The PQI was
significantly and negatively correlated with age (correlation coefficient – 0.34, P < 0.001) Number of drugs in
prescription (correlation coefficient – 0.51, P< 0.001) and number of chronic diseases/ conditions (correlation
coefficient – 0.35, P< 0.001). The PQI is a promising new tool for measuring prescription quality. It has been
shown that the PQI is a valid, reliable and responsive tool to measure quality of prescription in chronic diseases.

Key words: Chronic diseases, Prescription quality index, Cardiology, Nephrology, Oncology