Drug, Healthcare and Patient Safety (Nov 2020)
Assessment of Drug Use Pattern Using WHO Core Prescribing Indicators at Outpatient Settings of Governmental Hospitals in Dessie Town
Abstract
Getnet Mengistu,1 Desye Misganaw,1 Tessema Tsehay,2 Belete Kassa Alemu,1 Kassahun Bogale2 1Pharmacology and Toxicology Unit, Department of Pharmacy, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Wollo University, Dessie, Ethiopia; 2Clinical Pharmacy Unit, Department of Pharmacy, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Wollo University, Dessie, EthiopiaCorrespondence: Getnet MengistuPharmacology and Toxicology Unit, Department of Pharmacy, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Wollo University, P.o. Box 1145, Dessie, EthiopiaTel +251 912 49 26 92Fax +251 333115052Email [email protected]: Enhancing the standards of medical treatment at all levels of the healthcare delivery system can improve the quality of life in developing countries. One method to promote rational drug use is an assessment of drug use pattern based on drug use indicators.Objective: To evaluate prescription patterns at the outpatient pharmacy of Dessie Referral Hospital and Boru Meda Hospital at Dessie town.Methods: An institution-based retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted to assess the prescribing patterns in governmental hospitals of Dessie town from April 1 to May 30, 2019. Six hundred eligible prescriptions were selected from each hospital through a systematic random sampling technique.Results: The result of this study showed that both hospitals used standard prescriptions (100%). Age (99.0%) and name (94.7%) of patients were the most commonly recorded patient information while weight, address of patients and diagnosis were recorded only in 1.1%, 39.2% and 61.3% of the studied prescription papers, respectively. A total 2409 drugs were prescribed in the 1200 prescription papers and the percentage of encounters with injection(s) and antibacterial(s) was 9.0% and 42.6%, respectively. At each hospital, all drugs were prescribed from the Ethiopian essential drug list.Conclusion: The present study revealed the use of standard presecription papers at both hospitals. None of the patient-related information was completely written in all prescrptions. For drug-related information, only the name of the drug was written in all prescription papers. There is also a significant deviation from the acceptable WHO standard for prescribing antibiotics.Keywords: prescription pattern, completeness, WHO core prescribing indicators, Dessie, Ethiopia
