Prescription audit: experience in Garhwal (Uttaranchal), India

A total of 400 prescriptions were randomly audited from Govern Combined Hospital, Srinagar (Garhwal). Various prescribing specific indicators (recommended by World Health Organization and others) were studied and patient compliance was measured. All of the prescriptions were written for outpatients (males 59.25%; females 40.75%). The average number of drugs prescribed was 3.65 and about 51% of the drugs were prescribed by generic names. NSAIDs were the most widely prescribed (89.75%), antibiotics (77.25%), and vitamins (59.74%) in various clinical conditions. The diagnosis was mentioned only in 22.25% of the prescriptions. A total of 59% fixed dose combinations (FDCs) were prescribed. The patient compliance was 71.5%. The injection use was found to be 7% only. Our survey reveals increased drug exposure to the patients, indiscriminate use of NSAIDs, antibiotics and vitamins. Further studies in this area using a larger sample size should be carried out, and a well designed training programme should be conducted on rational drug use.