PRESCRIPTION AUDIT FROM THE OUTPATIENT DEPARTMENT OF A RURAL HOSPITAL IN WEST BENGAL, INDIA: A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY

Objectives: Standards of the medical treatment at different levels of the health-care delivery system influence the quality of life. A prescription audit is a kind of vigilant activity that can oversee the observance of these standards. We conducted a prescription audit to evaluate the prescribing pattern in the general outpatient department (OPD) in a rural hospital in West Bengal.
Methods: The study was a cross-sectional study spanning for 1 month, from September 1, 2021, to September 30, 2021. It was conducted at the general OPD of a Rural Hospital in West Bengal. Four hundred and ninety first encountered prescriptions were collected from the OPD and analyzed.
Results: All prescriptions contained the name, age, and gender of the patients, but body weights of the patients were documented only in 12.4% of cases. Proper diagnosis was mentioned in 43.7% prescriptions and route of administration was mentioned in 58.4% of cases. Medicines were prescribed in generic name in 78.2% cases and 2.9% contained an injection. Antibiotic was prescribed in 19.4% prescriptions and 32.3% of drugs were prescribed from the essential medicine list. Correct duration of treatment was provided in 32.7% cases. Standard treatment guidelines were followed in 26.4% prescriptions.
Conclusion: Our study showed encouraging trends regarding prescribing in generic name and limitation of antibiotic usage. However, there were deficits in mentioning the diagnosis and vital drug related information such as route of administration and duration of therapy.