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Published on: August 30, 2018
Do Private Practitioners in Puducherry, South India, Adhere to World Health Organization Drug Prescribing Standards?
Abinandhan Murugan1, Jayalakshmy Ramakrishnan2, Palanivel Chinnakali3
1MPH Scholar, JIPMER International School of Public Health, Puducherry, India.
Background:
Private practitioners play a key role in addressing the healthcare needs of a large proportion of the Indian population. While several studies have explored drug prescribing practices in India, a gap exists in understanding the drug prescribing patterns of private practitioners.
Objectives:
This study described the drug prescribing patterns of private practitioners using World Health Organization (WHO) prescribing indicators, with a focus on estimating the proportion of antibiotics prescribed based on AWaRe (ACCESS, WATCH, and RESERVE) classification.
Materials And Methods:
The study used a cross-sectional descriptive design. The prescriptions of private practitioners were collected from customers at 20 pharmacies in Puducherry, South India from September to November 2023.
Results:
A total of 600 prescriptions were included in the analysis. About one-third (33.7%) of prescriptions collected were for individuals aged 31-45 years, whereas least (6.3%) were for those <18 years. The antibiotic prescription rate was 38.8%, exceeding WHO standards (20%-26.8%), with 61.4% falling in the WATCH category, below the WHO target of ≥60% ACCESS category. Polypharmacy was observed, averaging 3.6 drugs per prescription, exceeding the WHO standards (1.6-1.8 drugs). Generic name prescription was only 0.2%, deviating from the WHO's 100% standard. Injections were prescribed in only 3.5% of prescriptions, below the WHO standards (13.4%-24.1%). Furthermore, only 52.8% of prescribed drugs were on the National Essential Medicine List (NEML) of India, 2022, below the WHO's 100% NEML prescription standards.
Conclusion:
This study has highlighted the practice of polypharmacy, higher preference for branded drugs and antibiotics, and a lesser utilization of NEML-listed medications by the private practitioners in Puducherry.
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