Facilitators and barriers of the rational drug use hospital program in Thailand

The Thailand Ministry of Public Health has started a rational drug use (RDU) policy, which includes multifaceted strategies as well as the RDU hospital program to tackle irrational drug use. Objective: To investigate facilitators and barriers related to the CIPP model of the RDU hospital program in Thailand. Methods: This is a qualitative study. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with regional policymakers who were members of the executive board for RDU management in the 10th health region. The interviews were conducted via telephone using a topic guide informed by the CIPP framework and reviewed for content validity by the research team. Data were transcribed, and thematically analyzed. Results: Fifteen pharmaceutical policymakers were interviewed. The main facilitators related to context, input, and process were the national policy on RDU, RDU awareness/practices among health professionals, particularly prescribers, and multidisciplinary teamwork under the organization's leadership to use data feedback to improve the program. The main barriers related to context, input, and process were a lack of policy advocacy at the regional and provincial levels, doctor-related reasons such as medicolegal concerns, and a lack of multidisciplinary teamwork. For the product theme, participants were very satisfied and perceived positive impacts at both the individual and organizational levels, such as increased RDU awareness in patients and multidisciplinary teams, as well as RDU prescription. However, negative impacts, such as tensions surrounding professional responsibility and accountability, have been observed. Conclusion: Although the participants expressed high satisfaction levels and positive impacts, there is still room for improvement in the specified themes. In addition, drug regulatory policies in all accessible channels, a multidisciplinary RDU curriculum, and public education to control irrational medication use and raise patient awareness should be increased to encourage sustainable RDU behavior..