Abstract

STUDY OF PRESCRIPTION MEDICINES USAGE AMONG URBAN AND RURAL GENERAL PRACTITIONERS IN TELANGANA DISTRICTS

Dr. M. Prathibha*, G. Dhana Sree, Nikhath Sultana, Shaik Shoiab Uddin and Dheeraj Chandra

Abstract

Background: There is concern regarding irrational prescription and use of drugs in India. This pilot study aimed to describe the quality of prescriptions by medical practitioners, including both the layout of prescription and type and number of drugs prescribed, and to assess average cost of drugs prescribed. Aim and Objectives: Aim: The aim is to Study the prescription medicines usage among urban and rural general practitioners in Telangana districts. Objectives Primary objectives  Profile of prescription by doctors  Prescribing pattern according to WHO Prescribing indicators  Incidence of poly pharmacy at different levels of health care facilities. Secondary objectives  Distribution of commonly prescribed drugs by the practitioners  Distribution of commonly prescribed classes of drugs by the practitioners  Assessment of cost of prescription, according to rural and urban health care facility Material and Methods A survey of all prescriptions dispensed in urban and rural areas, was carried out over a sixmonth period from Oct 2020 to March 2021. Results Eight hundred prescriptions were collected. The majority (86.5%) were from private practitioners. The quality of the layout of the prescriptions was unsatisfactory in rural facility. Information to identify the practitioner was incomplete in nearly a third of the prescriptions Information to identify the patient was satisfactory in our study but provisional diagnosis of patients in rural areas was not mentioned in more than 50% of the prescriptions. Clarity of written instructions on how to take the medicines was unsatisfactory in the majority of prescriptions. Polypharmacy was the norm, with nearly three fourth of the prescriptions containing at least 3 medicines. Forty per cent of prescriptions included a vitamin or tonic preparation and nearly 50% of the prescriptions included an antibiotic and an analgesic. Over 90% of prescriptions contained only branded medicines in urban area. Private practitioners prescribed significantly greater number of medicines and were more likely to prescribe vitamins and antibiotics, and branded medicines. Conclusion This study confirms that quality of prescriptions, both in terms of layout and the content of drugs prescribed, is inadequate. There is a need to standardize the format of prescriptions in India so that all essential information is include and to promote prescription costing studies as patient compliance in a developing country like India is primarily dependent on cost of treatment. Evaluation of the impact of standard treatment guidelines and EDLs are future areas of research.

Keywords: Prescription medicines, generic name, inappropriate prescribing, general practitioners.