Drugs Prescribing Trends in Three polyclinics in Benghazi-Libya 2020

Abstract

ABSTRACT Increasing efforts are being made to improve drug prescribing practices in developing countries. Many drug utilization studies were conducted locally and pointed out the rational prescribing of drugs. In this study, a random sample of 1522 prescriptions were selected from three polyclinics in Benghazi: Ras-Ebida, Khalid Ibn-Elwalid and Al-Kish, over 4 months (July – October 2020). The prescriptions were analyzed for the following indicators: prescribing indicators, patient–care indicators and drug–use indicators. Results were compared to previous local studies. Number of drugs per prescription was comparable to previous studies while percentage of prescriptions with antibiotics was increased compared to previous studies. Consultation time increased twice, and dispensing time increased 6 times compared to previous studies. Most essential information was missed on the prescriptions in a dramatic way compared to all local previous studies even though the dose and period of treatment were not missed in any single prescription. Despite the efforts being made to improve prescribing habits and to rationalize the use of drugs, the obtained results confirm the deficiencies as reported earlier and suggest that methods of intervention should be initiated to improve prescribing trends in these polyclinics. Keywords: Prescribing – Indicators - Libya - polyclinic