The influence patient’s characteristics “requests and expectations” on physician prescribing behavior : A review

Purpose The role of patient’s characteristics in the prescribing decision of physicians comprises two major constructs: drug request and expectations. The purpose of this paper was to examine the existing literature on patient characteristics and then explore the circumstances that reinforce the connection between patient characteristics (drug requests and expectations) and physician prescribing decision. Design/methodology/approach A survey of the literature was carried out across online databases from 1994 to 2015, and 25 reviewed articles were identified. The influence of patient factors on physician prescribing decisions was identified in the articles. A conceptual model to investigate the patient characteristics that influence physicians’ prescribing decision was the developed. Findings There have been numerous studies on the effect of patient characteristics on physician prescription decision. Some studies discovered patient’s request for drug and expectations strongly influence physicians’ prescribing decision, whereas others found only minor or no relation. To resolve this ambiguity, there is a need to precisely understand how patient factors affect prescribing decisions of physicians, under different contexts and conditions. This review contends that contextual variables – drug characteristics, drug cost/benefits ratio and physician habit persistence – are determining factors in this debate. Research limitations/implications The study recommends further studies on the influence of each factor on physician prescribing behaviour and an evaluation of the proposed model and moderating variables. Originality/value This paper is the first significant step towards recognizing contextual variables that may moderate the relationship between a patient’s drug request and expectations and prescribing behaviour. This research contributes to resolving the debate on the ways patient factors affect prescribing behaviour.