Core Prescribing Indicators and the Most Commonly Prescribed Medicines in a Tertiary Health Care Setting in a Developing Country

Irrational prescribing is common, especially in developing countries. It is important to identify the magnitude of irrational use, to take necessary steps to promote rational prescribing. We identified core prescribing indicators and commonly prescribed medicines at ward settings (IW) and outpatients' clinics (OPC) in a tertiary care hospital in Sri Lanka. A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out at IW and OPC settings. Prescriptions were obtained from 5 major specialties (Clinical Medicine (CM), Gynaecology and Obstetrics (GO), Paediatrics, Psychiatry, and Surgery). The WHO core prescribing indicators were used to describe the pattern of prescribing, and the most commonly prescribed medicines were identified. A total of 1,318 prescriptions were analyzed. The five most commonly prescribed medicines were paracetamol (31.0%), omeprazole (20.6%), folic acid (18.3%), atorvastatin (16.2%), and salbutamol (15.3%). The average number of medicines per encounter was 4.8 ± 3.6 (IW: 5.7 ± 4; OPC: 3.8 ± 2.8; p < 0.001), with the highest IW (7.8 ± 4.2) and OPC (7.8 ± 2.7) values were from CM, being significantly higher than all other disciplines (p < 0.05). Percentage encounters with an antibiotic or an injection was 26.4% and 30.1%, respectively, with IW being significantly higher than OPC (p < 0.001). Percentage of medicines prescribed by generic name and from the essential medicine list (EML) was 90.1% and 91.1%, respectively, with no significant IW and OPC difference. In conclusion, a high degree of polypharmacy was noted. The use of injectable medicines, prescribing from the EML, and generic name prescribing was satisfactory; however, overall rational prescribing needs further improvement. Further investigation into the degree of rational prescribing associating it with clinical information will be important.