Psychological relief to the patients and their expectations of a faster relief can supersede the rational reasons for the doctor while prescribing injections, reveal a PGI survey.

Responses of doctors in a survey conducted by the School of Public Health, PGI highlight that over one-third of the doctors feel that their prescription of injections over oral medicines is driven by the expectations from the patients, patients' demand and psychological relief to the patients, rather than any rational reasons.

The survey also revealed that nearly 7 per cent of the surveyed doctors feel that sometimes injections are administered due to "doctors' push" and 3.4 per cent doctors feel that injections are given due to "patients' demand."

As many as 36.2 per cent doctors felt that they prescribe injections to meet the "patients' expectations" while 1.7 per cent said that they would prescribe injections to provide "psychological relief to the patients."

Interestingly, the survey also recorded the response of 3.4 per cent doctors who said they are "not sure/do not know" when to prefer to prescribe injections.

"Our survey has revealed that 87.9 per cent doctors in the government set up in the tri-city of Chandigarh, Panchkula and Mohali, follow rational reasons while deciding to prescribe injections. Ideally, this figure should be 100 per cent as to why should a doctor go by the expectation or demand of the patients while preferring an injection over oral medicine. This is huge gap which needs to be addressed,' says Dr A K Aggarwal of the School of Public Health, PGI.

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