Evaluation of prescribing pattern at basic health care facilities of Islamabad Pakistan

Abstract

Failure to adopt the rational pattern of prescribing and dispensing by health professionals represents a significant risk to the safety of patient and lead to pharmaceuticals wastage. This study was designed to evaluate the prescribing and dispensing pattern at the selected basic healthcare facilities of Islamabad Pakistan. World Health Organization with collaboration to International Network for the Rational Use of Drugs has provided the core indicators to configure and examine the prescribing patterns. The study was conducted in 2018, using these indicators following the study sites, fourteen Basic Health Units, three Rural Health Centres and three local dispensaries located in Islamabad (Pakistan) were randomly visited and that accounts overall 600 prescribing episodes collected retrospectively. The results of this study highlighted that the average number of drugs prescribed was 2.751. Percentage of drugs prescribed by generic was 41.15%. Percentage of steroids, injections and antibiotics were 7.68%, 16.05% and 48.6%. The drugs prescribed from Essential Drug List were 75.08%. Average consultation time was 2.699 minutes. The average dispensing time was 1.479 minutes. We concluded that high number of average drugs per prescription, over prescription of antibiotics, low generic prescribing, less average consultation and dispensing time found in healthcare facilities. Keywords: Prescribing pattern, Basic health facilities, INRUD prescribing indicators, WHO prescribing indicators