Evaluation of prescribing pattern with special reference to antibiotics, using digital platform among inpatients in a tertiary care hospital.

OBJECTIVES

Prescribing patterns vary across primary, secondary, and tertiary care due to factors such as referrals and prior treatments. Tertiary care often involves higher-end drugs and more injectables for complex cases. This study assessed inpatient prescribing trends - antibiotic use, polypharmacy, and adherence to the National List of Essential Medicines - across hospital departments using the indigenous, validated digital analytics platform VaidyaRx.

METHODOLOGY: An observational study was conducted over 4 months (June-September 2024) at SVS Medical College and Hospital, Mahabubnagar, Telangana, analyzing 2104 inpatient prescriptions from six clinical departments. The study evaluated drug utilization, antibiotic prescribing trends, and adherence to the NLEM guidelines. Data were analyzed using the descriptive statistics in Microsoft Excel and VaidyaRx.

RESULTS

The majority of patients (60.8%) were in the 19-65 age group, with orthopedics exhibiting the longest hospital stay (11.3 ± 9.9 days). The average number of drugs per prescription was 8.6, with 17.0% prescribed as generics. Antibiotics were present in 66% of prescriptions, with Ceftriaxone (15.7%) being the most commonly prescribed. The WHO Access, Watch, and Reserve classification revealed 38.3% were from Watch, 32.4% Access, and 1.9% Reserve antibiotics. Adherence to NLEM 2021 was 59.3%, with pediatrics (70.5%) showing the highest compliance. 26.1% prescription had fixed-dose combinations, predominantly in orthopedics and pediatrics.

CONCLUSION

This study highlights the importance of rational prescribing, minimizing inappropriate antibiotic use, and optimizing adherence to essential medicine list and supporting enhanced antimicrobial stewardship programs and digital analytics platforms, VaidyaRx to enable real-time prescription monitoring. Strengthening evidence-based prescribing practices is required to improve patient safety and better healthcare outcomes.