Understanding the Physicians’ Perception in the management of Hyperthyroid disorders: A physician based survey

The objective of this study was to understand the physicians’ perception in the management of hyperthyroid disorders. In this single visit survey, 177 physicians across India were asked to fill the questionnaire pertaining to hyperthyroid disorders, medications and its compliance. A total of 44% of physicians prescribe anti-thyroid drugs for minimum of 18 months, whereas 37 % prescribe anti-thyroid drugs for 12 months. Almost 48% of physicians’ initiate carbimazole 10 mg BD/day or 20 mg OD in their patients. Non-adherence due to unavailability of anti-thyroid medications is a major concern seen in their patients. Almost 44 % of physicians confirmed that >20% patients discontinued anti-thyroid therapy due to non-availability. Majority of the physicians (89%) prefer compliance pack i.e. bottle of 100 tablets to their patients. Antithyroid drugs are usually administered for about 12-18 months. Non-compliance due to unavailability of medicine is the major problem in the management of hyperthyroid disorders. Compliance pack/bottle of 100 tablets could be a useful option to improve patient compliance.