Evaluating the drug prescribing pattern in a tertiary care trauma centre outpatient department in North India: A cross-sectional study.

PURPOSE: There is a need for rational prescribing of drugs to achieve healthcare outcomes. One of the major consequences of irrational drug use is the emergence of antibiotic resistance. Therefore, drug prescribing practices must be scrutinized at regular intervals to ensure patient safety. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the prescribing pattern of physicians using the 'WHO-recommended core prescribing indicators' in the OPD of a tertiary care trauma centre in North India.

MATERIALS AND

METHODS

This was a prospective, cross-sectional study conducted at all the outpatient departments of a tertiary care trauma centre hospital for a period of 3 months from February to May 2024. A total of 822 prescriptions were assessed based on the World Health Organization (WHO) core prescribing indicators according to guidelines and methods for data consistency. Descriptive statistical analyses (frequencies, mean, percentages, and standard deviation) were used to report the data.

RESULTS

The WHO core prescribing indicators analysis showed that the average number of drugs per encounter was 1.25, 47.47% of the drugs were prescribed by generic name, and duration was mentioned only for 55.04% drugs. The percentage of antibiotics prescribed per encounter was 4.86% which was much lower than the ideal WHO recommendations. The most frequently prescribed antibiotic was Cefuroxime, which belongs to WATCH group according to AWaRe classification list, and only 53.68% (n = 553) of the drugs were from the National List of Essential Medicines.

CONCLUSION

The present study on audit of prescription practices was performed using 'WHO core prescribing indicators, highlights adherence to rationality and completeness. Improvement is needed in generic prescribing and completeness of prescriptions. Regular audits and AWaRe-based practices could enhance rational, cost-effective healthcare delivery.