scholarly journals Assessment of Prescribing and Dispensing Practices Based on WHO Core Prescribing Indicators in Hospital and Community Pharmacies in Khartoum State - Sudan

Author(s):  
Dalia Rabie ◽  
Salah I. Kheder

Background Rational drug management has become an increasingly important topic in order to make optimal use of the drug budget to offer health services of the highest possible standard. It is important that continuous assessment for rational prescribing and use of drug have to be carried. Objective of this study was to gather data on existing drug prescription and dispensing practices and to evaluate the prescribing and dispensing indicators as described by the WHO. Method Observational, cross-sectional, prospective study was designed and conducted to evaluate the performance of hospital and community pharmacies in Khartoum state, related to rational drug use and prescribing and dispensing practices during the period from November 2018 to March 2019. 297 Hospital and community pharmacies from public and private sectors were contacted for carrying out this study survey and the collected data were analysed against WHO standards for core drug use indicators. Results The average number of drugs per encounter was 3.98 drugs. Hospital pharmacies had a higher (4.18±1.516) number of drugs prescribed than community pharmacies (3.87±1.331) with significance difference between mean of two types of pharmacies (P = 0.015). The percentage of antibiotic per prescription was (53.7%). Antibiotic prescribing was much higher (54.0%) in the hospital pharmacies compared to (48.6 %) in community pharmacies. The average percentage of injections per prescription at the facilities was found to be (57.6%). The percentage of prescription with written diagnosis was (26%.0) and the percentage of prescriptions with written dose was (78%.0). The average dispensing time was (1.75) minutes, The Percentage of drugs actually dispensed was (55.99%), the average adequacy of labelling of drugs was (30.4%). Overall prescribing and dispensing indicators were higher than WHO standard. Conclusion The degree of poly pharmacy was greater than of WHO criteria. The completeness and rationality of prescription was found suboptimal and components were missed.

2005 ◽  
Vol 39 (3) ◽  
pp. 527-532 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claudia Vacca ◽  
José Orozco ◽  
Albert Figueras ◽  
Dolors Capellà

BACKGROUND: Appropriate dispensing is one of the steps for rational drug use, so it is generally advised that the dispenser should have relevant and updated knowledge, skills, and attitudes. OBJECTIVE: To assess pharmacies and nonprofessional employees' (NEs) skills and knowledge, as well as their response to several specific case simulations in Bogotá, Colombia. METHODS: A descriptive cross-sectional study was performed on a random sample of 371 pharmacies in Bogotá. Information from each pharmacy was obtained using 2 approaches: (1) direct interview to collect data on organizational aspects of the store and characteristics of NEs, and (2) simulation (both by direct interview and by telephone) to assess dispensing responses in 6 simulated clinical cases. RESULTS: More than half of the simulated clinical situations resulted in inappropriate dispensing (direct simulations 57%; telephone simulations 55%). The proportion of correct answers to theoretical questions regarding a specific therapeutic problem during interviews was higher than the response when a simulation presented that same case and a dispensing act was expected. The educational background of the NEs included in the study points to a specific problem: two-thirds of the individuals selling medicines had completed only secondary-level education and only 2% of the sample had a pharmacist as technical director. Continuing education courses were either directly organized by drug manufacturers (one-third of the courses attended by pharmacists) or sponsored by them (more than an additional one-third). CONCLUSIONS: NEs should be considered part of the therapeutic chain and, if appropriately updated or instructed, could play a very important role in the always difficult promotion of rational drug use. Public health institutions and universities should be more actively involved in the provision of independent, unbiased, and essential information on common therapeutic problems, safety concerns, and new drug prescription restrictions.


2017 ◽  
pp. 75-80
Author(s):  
Quoc Duong Doan ◽  
Thi Ha Vo

Background: Community pharmacists play an important role in counseling of rational drug use for population. The study aimed to characterize counselling activities of drug use and demand of counselling tools at some community pharmacies at Hue City. Materials and method: A 17-question survey were asked to fill pharmacy staffs of a convenient sample of 100 community pharmacies at Hue City from 2/2017 to 7/2017. Results: There were 58 pharmacies (58.0%) answered this survey. Cough, headache, fever, high blood pressure and diabetes were the most popular symptoms/diseases presented in pharmacies. Patients often need counselling about dose (82.8%) and when to take medicine (79.3%). The main bariers for counselling were a lack of time (53.4%), and of skills/medthods for counseling (31.7%). About 96.6% pharmacies demanded counselling tools and favorite formats were book (32.9%) or pocket handbook (29.3%). Conclusion: Most pharmacies demanded counselling tools. Other studies should be conducted to develop supporting tools for counseling and to assess the quality of counseling in pharmacies. Key words: community pharmacy, counseling of drug use, pharmacist, Hue


2014 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Moses A. Ojo ◽  
Cecilia I. Igwilo ◽  
Thomas Emedoh

Irrational drug use is associated with adverse consequences including drug resistance and avoidable adverse drug reactions. Studies of rational drug use in psychiatric facilities are scanty. This study evaluated prescription practices and perception of health care professionals regarding causes of irrational drug use. A retrospective study conducted at the outpatient clinic of Federal Neuro- psychiatric Hospital, Yaba, Lagos. Data on drug use indicators were analyzed. A cross-sectional assessment of perception of prescribers and dispensers regarding rational drug use was conducted. A total of 600 prescriptions were analyzed. Mean number of drugs per encounter was 3.5 and percentage generic prescribed was 58.5%. Poly-pharmacy (P=0.024, 95% CI=1.082-1.315) and non-generic prescribing (P=0.032, 95% CI=1.495-1.821) were significantly associated with young prescribers. Factors associated with irrational drug use include demand from patients, patients’ beliefs about injection drugs and influence of pharmaceutical sale representatives. Certain aspect of prescribers indicators are still poor in the hospital studied. Health care professionals identified possible associated factors for irrational drug use. Concerted efforts are required to ensure rational drug use especially in psychiatric facilities in Nigeria.


2020 ◽  
Vol 54 (4) ◽  
pp. 218-224
Author(s):  
Merve Nur Işık ◽  
Nazan Dalgıç ◽  
Betül Okuyan ◽  
Zeynep Yıldız Yıldırmak ◽  
Mesut Sancar

Objective: The aim of this study is to evaluate clinical pharmacist-led medication review service for hospitalized pediatric patients. Material and Methods: This cross-sectional study was carried out between November 2017-April 2018 in an education and research hospital in Istanbul. Clinical pharmacist-led medication review was conducted by using Pharmaceutical Care Network Europe (PCNE) Classification V8.02 in hospitalized pediatric at general pediatric service. Potential drug-related problems (DRPs) were identified and classified. These DRPs were presented the physicians and the percentage of accepted recommendations by the physician were recorded. Results: Among forty-three patients (21 male and 22 female), the median age of them was calculated as 6 (3-36) months. Of them, 25.58% had 16 DRPs. The most common DRPs were associated with potential drug-drug interactions (n= 9); and dose selection (n= 5), which represented 56.25% and 31.25% of drug-related problems, respectively. It was observed that 63% of these problems were occurred during selection of drugs (at prescription level) according to PCNE classification. Of the clinical pharmacist’s recommendations regarding these DRPs, 87.5% were accepted by the physician. Conclusion: To optimize rational drug use, numerous studies related with clinical pharmacist-led medication review by using PCNE classification were present in adult patients; however, there was no sufficient studies conducted in pediatric patients. Clinical pharmacists have an important role in the classification of DRPs and to provide rational drug use in pediatric patients.


Author(s):  
Nebyu Daniel Amaha ◽  
Dawit G. Weldemariam ◽  
Nuru Abdu ◽  
Eyasu H. Tesfamariam

Abstract Background Antibiotics require more prudent prescribing, dispensing and administration than other medicines because these medicines are at a greater risk of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Studying the current medicine use practices and factors affecting the prescribing of an antibiotic would help decision makers to draft policies that would enable a more rational use of medicines. Methods A prospective, descriptive, and cross-sectional study was conducted to assess the current prescribing practices including antibiotics use in six community pharmacies in Asmara. A total of 600 encounters were reviewed using the WHO core prescribing indicators between May 5 and May 12, 2019 using stratified random sampling technique. Descriptive statistics and logistic regression were employed using IBM SPSS® (version 22). Results The average number of medicines per prescription was 1.76 and 83.14% of the medicines were prescribed using generic names while 98.39% of the medicines were from the National Essential Medicines List (NEML). The percentage of prescriptions containing antibiotics was 53%. The number of encounters containing injections was 7.8%. Patient age, gender and number of medicines prescribed were significantly associated with antibiotic prescribing at bivariate and multivariable models. Subjects under the age of 15 were approximately three times more likely to be prescribed antibiotic compared to subjects whose age is 65 and above (Adjusted Odds Ratio (AOR): 2.93, 95%CI: 1.71–5). Similarly, males were more likely to be prescribed antibiotic than females (AOR: 1.57, 95%CI: 1.10–2.24). Subjects to whom three to four medicines prescribed were two times more likely to be prescribed an antibiotic compared to those who were to be prescribed one to two medicines per encounter (AOR: 2.17, 95%CI: 1.35–3.5). A one-unit increase in the number of medicines increased the odds of antibiotic prescribing increased by 2.02 units (COR: 2.02; 95%CI: 1.62–2.52). Conclusions This study found that the percentage of antibiotics being prescribed at the community pharmacies in Asmara was 53% which deviated significantly from the WHO recommended values (20–26.8%). Furthermore, the percentage of encounters with an injection was 7.8% lower than the WHO value of 13.4–24.0%. Patients’ age, gender and number of medicines were significantly associated with antibiotic prescribing.


2018 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 279-284
Author(s):  
Binaya Shrestha ◽  
Sanjaya Mani Dixit

Background: In order to promote rational drug use in developing countries, assessment of drug use pattern using the World Health Organization drug use indicators is important. The aim of this study was to assess the drug prescription patterns at Kathmandu Medical College Teaching Hospital, using some of the World Health Organization core drug use indicators.Methods: A prospective cross-sectional study was carried out in order to determine current prescribing trends at Kathmandu Medical College Teaching Hospital. A total of 605 prescriptions were collected and analyzed in the study.Results: The average number of drugs per prescription was 5.85 considering the total amount of prescriptions. Furthermore, assuming each prescription as an individual patient, 64.1% of patients received antibiotics, and 71% of patients received injectable form of drugs. Among antibiotics the most common antibiotics prescribed were Ceftriaxone, Amoxicillin/Cloxacillin, Azithromycin, Cefixime, and Cloxacillin. Only 16.94% of the medicines were prescribed in generic names with the rest 83.06% of the medicines being prescribed in brand names and 47.55% of medicines prescribed were from the National List of Essential Medicines-Nepal.Conclusions: The current study revealed that polypharmacy and prescription writing using brand names were common. Prescriptions writing in generic name needs to be promoted and encouraged. There appears to be a crucial need for the development of prescribing guidelines when it comes to antibiotics. Keywords: Drug prescription; drug utilization; prescribing practices; rational drug use; WHO prescribing indicators.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ogu Udochukwu U. ◽  
Nkoli Ezumah ◽  
Aloysius Odii ◽  
Nkolika P. Uguru

Abstract Background: To reduce the rate of illicit drug use, the public has an important role to play, therefore how they perceive illicit drug use among youths must be ascertained. This study seeks to ascertain the public perception of strategies for curbing adolescent drug use.Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional research design was used for the study. The study adopted a mixed-method approach comprising quantitative and qualitative methods. The study population consisted of members of the public aged 18 years and above, residing in Owerri metropolis at the time of the study. A total of 10 communities were selected randomly in all: four communities from the 16 communities that make up Owerri West, five communities from the 18 communities that make up Owerri North and one community from the five communities that make up Owerri Municipal. A total of 16 respondents were purposively selected for in-depth interviews.Results: The quantitative findings show that 70.7% of respondents believe that the use of illicit drugs by adolescents can be controlled. The findings also show that one of the public’s perception to control adolescent drug use is to establish stringent anti-illicit drugs consumption laws/policies (20.4%) amongst others. The qualitative findings report that in order to curb the use of drugs by adolescents, the following activities and bodies need to be implored: health promotion, raising more awareness and sensitization campaigns, creation of remand homes for juveniles, the involvement of parents, school authorities and religious organizations and rehabilitation programmes. However, raising awareness, according to the study was reported as a reliable way of eliminating drug use among adolescents.Conclusion: To curb illicit drug use, proper funding of drug enforcement agencies, sensitization campaigns, strict laws on drug prescription, provision and use and health education etc. are very necessary for reducing adolescents’ illicit drug consumption.


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