The prescribing pattern of hospital doctors

Area of Science:

• Pharmacology
• Clinical Pharmacy
• Health Services Research

Background:

• Limited local data existed on physician prescribing habits over the past 25 years.
• Understanding outpatient prescribing patterns is crucial for optimizing medication use and patient care.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the outpatient prescribing patterns of doctors at Alexandra Hospital in 1995.
• To establish baseline data on drug utilization in a local hospital setting.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of 6,503 prescription scripts and 16,642 prescribed items.
• Prescription data categorized by hospital department (Accident & Emergency, Medical, Orthopaedics, Surgery, Paediatrics, Geriatrics).
• Analysis of the mean number of drugs prescribed per patient across different age groups.

Main Results:

• The mean number of drugs prescribed was 2.6, with higher averages in older age groups (3.18 for >60 years).
• Top prescribed drug classes included NSAIDs, antacids, analgesics, and antibiotics.
• High utilization of NSAID-antacid combinations and amoxicillin with cloxacillin was observed; antidepressant use was low.

Conclusions:

• This study provides the first local data on hospital prescribing patterns, serving as a valuable baseline.
• Findings indicate that elderly patients are prescribed a greater number of medications.
• Prescribing patterns may vary between hospitals due to patient demographics and specific needs.