Assessment of medication prescription pattern at Bole health center, Ethiopia

Abstract

Background: Inappropriate use of medicines becomes a common global problem. The aim of this study was to assess the drug prescription patterns at Bole health center, using some of the World Health Organization (WHO) core drug use indicators. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted to determine the current prescribing practices at the health center. A sample of 720 prescriptions was selected by using stratified random sampling method from 11,040 prescriptions written for the 5 month period from August 1- December 30, 2016. Data were collected from prescription papers filed in the pharmacy. Results: The average number of drugs prescribed per encounter was 2.03. The percentage of encounters in which antibiotics prescribed was 67.36%. The proportion of drugs prescribed by generic name and from an essential drug list was 98.14% and 99.25%, respectively. Conclusions: The prescribing practice for antibiotic and average number of medicines per prescription shows deviation from the standard recommended by WHO. Great emphasis should be given to restrict inappropriate use of antibiotics.