ArticleJournal of pharmaceutical policy and practice2021
Evaluating the implementation of the standard treatment guidelines (STGs) and essential medicines list (EML) at a public South African tertiary institution and its associated primary health care (PHC) facilities.
Article in Journal of pharmaceutical policy and practice, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 14 papers.
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Who cites it
14 citing papers in PubMed, 30 citations in OpenAlex.
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- Research gaps on universal health coverage in the South African context and other low and middle-income countries; putting things into perspective: a scoping review.BMC health services research · 2026Article
- Psychometric Validation of the Community Antimicrobial Use Scale (CAMUS) in Primary Healthcare and the Implications for Future Use.Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
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- Development of practical emergency simulation training in primary health care: Lessons learnt.African journal of primary health care & family medicine · 2024Article
- Hospital prescribing patterns of antibiotics in Zambia using the WHO prescribing indicators post-COVID-19 pandemic: findings and implications.JAC-antimicrobial resistance · 2024Article
- The effect of prescription patterns on the performance of the pharmacy department of a Regional Referral Hospital, Uganda.Journal of pharmaceutical policy and practice · 2024Article
- Adherence to evidence-based implementation of antimicrobial treatment guidelines among prescribers in sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Journal of pharmaceutical policy and practice · 2023Review
- A Narrative Review of Antibiotic Prescribing Practices in Primary Care Settings in South Africa and Potential Ways Forward to Reduce Antimicrobial Resistance.Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Implications of the South African National Drug Policy on prescribing patterns: a case study of the Limpopo province.Journal of pharmaceutical policy and practice · 2023Article
- Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundThe standard treatment guidelines (STGs) and essential medicines list (EML) were a policy option recommended in the National Drug Policy for South Africa in 1996 to address the irrational and bloated medicines procurement list. STGs/EML serve as a tool to promote cost-effective use of medicines; rational prescribing; and improve accessibility to medicines for all citizens. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the use and implementation of the STGs/EML by prescribers at a public tertiary institution and its associated Primary Health Care (PHC) facilities in the uMhlathuze subdistrict of KwaZulu Natal. The study aimed to provide feedback and to make recommendations to policy makers to improve the use and implementation of the STGs/EML and to inform National Health Insurance (NHI) policy development.
methodAn observational quantitative descriptive research design was used. A retrospective audit of prescriptions was conducted, and questionnaires were utilized to collect data from prescribers and the facilities to evaluate the utilization of the STGs/EML and the rational use of medicines. All descriptive analyses were presented as counts with percentages, and Fisher's exact test was used to compare results. The data was summarized, reduced, and analysed using SAS statistics software.
results107 medical doctors (97%) responded to the questionnaire at hospital level and 98 nurses (98%) responded to the questionnaire at the PHC level. Results revealed that the majority of doctors, 94.4%, had access to the latest STGs/EML compared with only 41.8% of nurses. 70.3% and 78.3% of doctor's and nurse's prescriptions, respectively, adhered to the guidelines. 94.9% of nurses requested training on the use of STGs/EML as most of them had not received formal training on its use.
conclusionThis study showed suboptimal adherence to STGs/EML by all prescribers, in contrast to previous research amongst nurses when hardcopies were available. Training on the use of the STGs/EML is needed at PHC level and improved monitoring of STGs/EML compliance is necessary. This study may be replicated for a wider population to paint a national picture and to periodically assess the extent of the implementation of the STGs/EML.
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