Rational drug therapy an alternative approach.

The paper Rational Drug Therapy by Mathur el al.(1) made interesting reading. The authors have given very useful suggestions for curbing the problem of irrational drug use. However, most of these suggestions are based on the 'policing' approach which, we are afraid, may not succeed in country like ours. Unfortunately, our legal system leaves a lot of loop holes (albiet in good faith) which are exploited to no end. In our opinion, an alternative effective solution lies in generating the awareness amongst prescribers so that they can make rational choices while prescribing a drug. We should not forget that irrationally formulated or priced drugs thrive by the actions of an intermediary the prescriber, who willingly or unwillingly plays into the hands of drug companies. If we have conscentious prescribers, no amount of advertising can succeed in promoting irrationality.