ArticleJournal of pharmaceutical policy and practice2016
Assessment of WHO/INRUD core drug use indicators in two tertiary care hospitals of Bahawalpur, Punjab, Pakistan.
Article in Journal of pharmaceutical policy and practice, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 59 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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59 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 125 citations in OpenAlex.
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- Patterns and trends in antimalarial dispensing practices in Ghana: a retrospective analysis of outreach training and supportive supervision data (2018-2022).Malaria journal · 2025Observational
- Antimicrobial prescribing patterns among pediatric outpatient encounters in primary healthcare centers in Bujumbura Mairie, Burundi.BMC primary care · 2025Article
- Assessment of dispensing practices and patient's knowledge of dispensed medicines in a hospital pharmacy, Ethiopia.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- WHO/INRUD prescribing indicators with a focus on antibiotics utilization patterns at outpatient department of Adigrat general hospital, Tigrai, Ethiopia: a retrospective cross-sectional study.Antimicrobial resistance and infection control · 2024Article
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- Assessment of antibiotic prescribing pattern and cost for hospitalized patients: A study from Palestine.PloS one · 2024Article
- E-prescribing and medication safety in community settings: A rapid scoping review.Exploratory research in clinical and social pharmacy · 2023Article
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- WHO/INRUD prescribing indicators among tertiary regional referral hospitals in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania: a call to strengthen antibiotic stewardship programmes.JAC-antimicrobial resistance · 2023Article
- Antibiotic utilization pattern in treatment of acute diarrheal diseases: the case of Hiwot Fana Specialized University Hospital, Harar, Ethiopia.Journal of pharmaceutical policy and practice · 2023Article
- Use of antibiotics in poultry and poultry farmers- a cross-sectional survey in Pakistan.Frontiers in public health · 2023Article
- Adherence to Prescribing Indicators at a District Hospital in Ghana: Do We Match WHO Standards?International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- Pattern of utilization, disease presentation, and medication prescribing and dispensing at 51 primary healthcare centers during the Hajj mass gathering.BMC health services research · 2022Article
- Evaluation of prescription completeness, rational drug-use patterns using WHO prescribing, patient-care and facility indicators in Debre Tabor Comprehensive Specialized Hospital, Ethiopia: A cross-sectional study.SAGE open medicine · 2022Article
- Article
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Authors and funding
8 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundMedicines are a main therapeutic intervention provided within hospitals and their proper use in the outpatient setting is important for patients and the community. The objective of this study was to evaluate drug use patterns in the outpatient departments (OPDs) of two tertiary care hospitals (Bahawal Victoria Hospital and Civil Hospital) in the Bahawalpur district of the Punjab province of Pakistan by employing the standard World Health Organization/International Network of Rational Use of Drugs (WHO/INRUD) drug use indicators.
methodsA descriptive, cross-sectional study design was employed. For assessing the prescribing indicators a sample of 2400 prescriptions were systematically reviewed out of a total of 1,560,000 prescriptions written from 1st April 2014 to 31st March 2015. A total of 600 randomly selected patients and all pharmacy personnel were observed and interviewed to investigate the patient-care and facility-specific indicators. We used the published ideal standards for each of the WHO/INRUD indicators for comparison purposes.
resultsAmong the prescribing indicators, the average number of drugs per prescription was 2.8 (SD = 1.3), the drugs prescribed by generic name were 56.6 %, the encounters with an antibiotic prescribed were 51.5 %, no injections were prescribed and 98.8 % of the drugs prescribed were from the Essential Drugs List (EDL). Among the patient-care indicators, the average consultation time was 1.2 min (SD = 0.8), the average dispensing time was 8.7 s (SD = 4.9), the percentage of drugs actually dispensed was 97.3 %, the percentage of drugs adequately labeled was 100 % and the patients' knowledge of correct dosage schedule was 61.6 %. Among the facility-specific indicators, all OPDs had a copy of the EDL and 72.4 % of the key drugs were available in stock.
conclusionIrrational use of drugs was observed in both OPDs. Polypharmacy, brand prescribing, over-prescribing of antibiotics, short consultation and dispensing times, lack of patients' knowledge about prescribed medicines and unavailability of all key drugs in stock were the major issues that need attention of the healthcare authorities. This study necessitates the requirement to implement the relevant WHO recommended core interventions to promote rational use of medicines in these hospital-based OPDs.
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