Factors associated with the use of a public information system of dentist-prescribed antibiotics in Minas Gerais, Brazil

This article aims to investigate the asso-ciation between socioeconomic factors, health care organizations, and the use of a management and monitoring system for the dispensing of antibiot-ics prescribed by dentists in public health services in Minas Gerais, Brazil. This is an ecological-epi-demiological study that analyzed secondary data from the Integrated Pharmaceutical Care Man-agement System (SIGAF) of the Department of Health of the state of MG, Brazil, in 2017. Thir-teen independent variables were analyzed to as-sess their influence on municipal adherence to SIGAF system considering dental prescriptions of antibiotics. Descriptive statistical analyses were performed, and the Classification and Regression Tree technique was used to identify the municipal variables associated with the outcome. A total of 57,279 antibiotic courses prescribed by dentists and recorded in SIGAF were examined. Socio-economic factors were not associated with the use of SIGAF to record these prescriptions. Oral healthcare coverage was positively associated with the use of SIGAF for the dispensing of antibiotics prescribed by dentists. Dental Specialties Cen-ter were negatively associated with the outcome. Municipalities with high oral healthcare coverage and those without a Dental Specialties Center were more likely to use SIGAF.