Retrospective Analysis of Drug Prescription Statistics in a Tertiary Care Center in India: Recommendations for Promoting Prudent Utilization of Drugs

OBJECTIVE: Drug utilization studies provide information regarding the drug usage pattern in hospital settings, which can be used to promote cost-efficient uses of drugs. The present observational retrospective study was conducted to evaluate the drug utilization pattern in a tertiary care center in India and create a baseline consumption data for the drugs, simultaneously identifying targets for improving drug prescribing pattern. METHODS: The current retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted at All India Institute of Medical Sciences Raipur, wherein the 217 medical records of different departments for August 2019 were chosen randomly (using systematic random sampling) for evaluation. The information was extracted from medical records regarding the basic demographic details, drug strength, route, and total amount, and eventually, the World Health Organization (WHO) core indicators were estimated. Drug utilization data were assessed using the WHO Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical/Defined Daily Dose (ATC-DDD) methodology. Potential drug–drug interactions were also analyzed. FINDINGS: Most of the records analyzed were of male patients (56.2%). Drugs prescribed by their generic name were 50%. Prescriptions containing injection and antimicrobials were 68.1% and 83.6%, respectively. 49.3% of the patients had received a fixed-dose combination, and 60.9% of drugs belonged to the National List of Essential Medicines 2015. A total of 15 potential drug interactions were found. CONCLUSION: Calculated prescribed daily dose of most of the antimicrobials and other groups of drugs was close to the WHO-DDD. Trade name prescription and polypharmacy were very common. Antibiotics accounted for the majority of drug costs.