[The validity of therapeutic utility and intrinsic value as indicators of drug prescription quality: an analysis of treatments in cases of the common cold].

OBJECTIVE: To determine the validity of intrinsic value and therapeutic utility.
DESIGN: The medicines prescribed in a random sample of 50 cases of common cold from each health centre evaluated were classified according to their intrinsic value (ordinal classification using five categories) and therapeutic use (dichotomized classification based on their intrinsic value). Patients with immunodeficiency or underlying pathology (COPD, cardiopathy, diabetes) were excluded. Each of the generic and non-specific indicators were studied to determine sensitivity and specificity for detecting problems in the rational prescription of medicines.
SETTING: A representative sample from 8 primary care centres in the Murcia region.
MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: The operative replies curve for intrinsic value revealed that this indicator was of little use in evaluating the quality of prescription.
CONCLUSIONS: The low validity of the generic prescription indicators suggests that systems to monitor quality based on a specific focus (linking the prescription to the disease treated) should be designed.