ArticleBMC health services research2016
Assessment of core drug use indicators using WHO/INRUD methodology at primary healthcare centers in Bahawalpur, Pakistan.
Article in BMC health services research, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 63 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
63 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Pooled it
- The Pattern of Medicine Use in Ethiopia Using the WHO Core Drug Use Indicators.BioMed research international · 2021Pooled it
- Antibiotic prescription practices in primary care in low- and middle-income countries: A systematic review and meta-analysis.PLoS medicine · 2020Pooled it
- Antibiotics Use Patterns in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Systematic Review Analysis.Inquiry : a journal of medical care organization, provision and financingPooled it
- Self-medication behavior among medical students: the roles of stress, self-efficacy, and health literacy.BMC medical education · 2026Article
- Improving antibiotic prescribing in LMICs: Insights from an outpatient clinic in Pakistan.New microbes and new infections · 2026Article
- Antidiabetic prescribing patterns, quality, and economic influence in resource-limited settings: evidence from a Pakistani tertiary care hospital using WHO/INRUD indicators.BMC health services research · 2026Article
- Article
- Irrational medicine use and its associated factors in conflict-affected areas in Mali: a cross-sectional study.Global health action · 2025Article
- Drug utilization pattern and cost analysis of antidiabetic drugs among type 2 diabetic patients at a teaching hospital in South India: A prospective observational study.Journal of family medicine and primary care · 2025Article
- Determinants of the generic's prescription among general practitioners in Casablanca, Morocco: A cross-sectional study.Journal of family medicine and primary care · 2025Article
- A survey on the attitudes of pediatric residents toward rational use of medicines and associated factors in Izmir, Turkey.BMC health services research · 2025Article
- Assessment of drug utilization evaluation and post-dispensing knowledge of ophthalmic medications: an explanatory sequential mixed-methods study at the University of Gondar Comprehensive Specialized Hospital, Northwest Ethiopia.BMC health services research · 2025Article
- Prescription Audit in Outpatient Pharmacy of a Tertiary Care Referral Hospital in Haryana Using World Health Organization/International Network of Rational Use of Drugs (WHO/INRUD) Core Prescribing Indicators: A Step Towards Refining Drug Use and Patient Care.Pharmacy (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Evaluation of Prescription Practices Using WHO/INRUD Indicators and Determinants of Polypharmacy at a Kenyan County Referral Hospital.Advances in pharmacological and pharmaceutical sciences · 2025Article
- Analysis of the pattern of drug use using WHO core drug indicators among general OPD patients in rural Puducherry.Journal of family medicine and primary care · 2024Article
- Attitudes, Beliefs, and Behaviors of Topical Antibiotic Prescribing among Primary Care Providers in Saudi Arabia: A Cross-Sectional Study.Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Evaluation of Rational Medicines Use Based on World Health Organization Core Indicators: A Cross-Sectional Study in Five Health Districts in Mauritania.Integrated pharmacy research & practice · 2024Article
- Prescribing trends and rational drug use patterns in cardiovascular patients: A cross-sectional observational study.Bioinformation · 2024Article
- Evaluating drug use patterns among paediatric outpatients in Burundi.Journal of pharmaceutical policy and practice · 2024Article
3 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
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Authors and funding
6 authors.
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No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundProper utilization of medicines is a critical component of pharmaceutical care plan. The aim of this study was to assess drug use pattern at ten primary healthcare centers (PHCCs) of the Bahawalpur district of the Punjab province of Pakistan by employing the WHO/INRUD core drug use indicators.
methodsThis was a descriptive, non-experimental and cross-sectional study. For the prescribing indicators, 1000 prescriptions (100 prescriptions per PHCC) were systematically sampled out of the total 290,000 prescriptions written during January to December 2014. A total of 300 randomly selected patients (30 per PHCC) and 10 pharmacy personnel (one per PHCC) were observed and interviewed to investigate the patient-care and facility-specific indicators, respectively. We used published ideal standards for each of the WHO/INRUD indicators.
resultsAmong the prescribing indicators, the average number of drugs per encounter was 3.4 (SD = 0.8) (optimal range = 1.6-1.8), the drugs prescribed by the generic name were 71.6% (optimal value = 100%), the encounters with an antibiotic prescribed were 48.9% (optimal range = 20.0-26.8%), the encounters with an injection prescribed were 27.1% (optimal range = 13.4-24.1%) and the drugs prescribed from the Essential Drugs List (EDL) were 93.4% (optimal value = 100%). Among the patient-care indicators, the average consultation time was 2.2 min (SD = 0.8) (optimal value ≥10 min), the average dispensing time was 38 s (SD = 12.1) (optimal value ≥90 s), the percentage of drugs actually dispensed was 90.9% (optimal value = 100%), the percentage of drugs adequately labeled was 100% (optimal value = 100%) and the patients' knowledge of correct dosage was 62.1% (optimal value = 100%). Among the facility-specific indicators, all PHCCs had a copy of the EDL and the key drugs available in the stock were 82% (optimal value = 100%).
conclusionsIrrational use of drugs was observed in all healthcare facilities. This study necessitates the need to implement the WHO/INRUD recommended 12 core interventions to promote rational use of medicines.
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