Audit of Prescribing Practices to Evaluate Rational Use of Medicines in the OPD of Orthopaedics in a Private Medical College Hospital

Abstract

Background: Prescribing patterns need to be evaluated periodically to increase the therapeutic efficacy, decrease adverse effects and provide feedback to prescribers. Like all other developing countries, irrational and inappropriate use of drugs is very common in Bangladesh.

Objectives: The main objective of the prescription audit was to define the pattern of drug used in the outpatient department of orthopaedics.

Methodology: This was a descriptive type of cross-sectional study. The study was conducted in the Outpatient Department (OPD) of Orthopaedics in a tertiary care private teaching hospital. Dhaka, Bangladesh in between January to March '2012. A total of 300 prescriptions were obtained with the help of a pre-inserted carbon paper in a special format using WHO core prescribing indicators and some additional indices.

Results: The average number of drugs per encounter was 3.78 and no single drug was prescribed by generic name. Use of an antibiotic and an injection was in 6.67% and 3.33% of encounters respectively. Only 4.32% drugs were prescribed from national essential drug list (EDL). Percentage of encounters with a NSAID, an antiulcerant and a calcium preparation prescribed were 97%, 97.33% and 67.33% respectively.

Conclusion: The patterns of drug prescribing in the OPD of orthopaedics did not fulfill the WHO criteria for rational use of medicine.

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/jssmc.v4i2.14399

J Shaheed Suhrawardy Med Coll, 2012;4(2):39-42