European Journal of Molecular & Clinical Medicine

Abstract

Background
: Drug use pattern is assessed using the World Health Organization (WHO)
core prescribing indicators which is a vital step to pr omote rational drug usage.
Objective
To conduct audit and the quality of prescription is assessed by comparing against
WHO core prescribing Indicators in a Tertiary health Care Centre , Tamil
Methodology
: A cross sectional study was conducted to determine the current prescribing
practices in a Tertiary health Care Centre , Tamil Nadu. Total 181 prescription prescribed by
doctors at 10 different OPDs were selected on two h ou rs daily for a week using convenient
sampling technique .
Results
: The average number of drugs prescribed per encounter or mean was 2.27 (SD
1.043) and the percentage of prescription with an antibiotic and injection was 20.3% and
16.3% respectively. The percentage of drugs prescribed by gen eric name and from an
essential drug list was 26.2% and 69.6% respectively. Prescription prescribed with fixed dose
combination list was and out of which was approved by Drug Standard Control
Organization, Govt. of India.
Conclusion:
The key findings in this study, the prescribing practices for antibiotics and
injections were adherent with WHO core prescribing indicators. On the other hand,
Polypharmacy, generic prescribing and prescription from EDL were not as per WHO
standards.