A STUDY ON PRESCRIPTION PATTERN IN OUT-PATIENT DEPARTMENT (OPD) OF A TERTIARY CARE GOVERNMENT TEACHING HOSPITAL, NORTH INDIA

Dr. Junaid Ali, Dr. Nitin Dutt Bhardwaj*, Brig. (Dr) Pradeep Srivastava, Dr. Kris Agarwal and Dr. Deepu Sharma

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: A prescription is defined as a written order from a registered medical practitioner to a pharmacist, instructing dispensing of medicines as indicated and explaining their use as per the directions provided. Prescription audit is the process that seeks to improve patient care and outcomes through a systematic review of care against explicit criteria and the implementation of change. AIM: To Study the Prescription Pattern in Out-Patient Department (OPD) of a Tertiary Care Government Teaching Hospital, North India. OBJECTIVE: To assess the compliance of Prescription Pattern in Out-Patient Department (OPD) with respect to available standard guideline. METHODOLOGY: The study was conducted in the Out-Patient Department (OPD) of a tertiary care government teaching hospital. It was an observational type of study for the duration of 02 months and 400 prescriptions were taken into consideration. Prescription audit was done using observational checklist issued by National Health System Resource Centre (NHSRC). Data analysis was done by using suitable software (MS-Excel). RESULT: It was observed that out of 400 prescriptions; 19.23% (77) were fully compliant and 80.77% (323) were partially compliant. Partial compliance was mainly seen in completeness, legibility and rationality of prescriptions. CONCLUSION: Regular auditing and feedback are important to promote safe prescribing practices.

Keywords: Prescription, audit, compliance, rational, legibility.