Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
Turkiye Klinikleri Journal of Medical Sciences, cilt.41, sa.1, ss.51-62, 2021 (SCI-Expanded)
© 2021 by Türkiye Klinikleri.Objective: Drug classifications are taught to healthcare professionals during undergraduate education according to the systems they are used in predominantly. There are many known and used classi-fications, like the Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical (ATC) classification system defined by the World Health Organization. The purpose of the survey study we present here is to determine the level of knowledge and attitudes of healthcare professionals about drug classifications and specifically “high risk drugs”. Material and Methods: Our study was carried out with a 19-item questionnaire by contacting 256 healthcare workers, online through diverse social media and direct messaging ap-plications. Level of knowledge and attitude data of healthcare workers regarding the classifications and the specific level of knowledge on “high risk drug” classification were collected. Results: 130 (50.8%) medical doctors, 71 (27.7%) pharmacists and 55 (21.5%) nurses participated in the study. 129 (50.4%) of the participants stated that they did not know the ATC drug classification and 182 (71.4%) of them stated that they did not use it routinely. The number of participants who gave correct answers to specific drug risk classification questions related to high risk drugs was 146 (59.3%) and 184 (74.5%). Conclusion: The main purpose of classifying drugs is to ensure the safest use of the drug with the highest benefit, and to improve the practices of healthcare pro-fessionals. In the context of rational drug use principles, it is thought that it would be beneficial to increase the awareness and knowledge level of the healthcare professionals responsible for drug prescribing, dispensing and administering, with post-graduate trainings.