Abstract

ASSESSMENT OF DRUG PRESCRIBING PATTERNS IN PSYCHIATRY OUTPATIENT DEPARTMENT OF A TERTIARY CARE TEACHING HOSPITAL

Christy Thomas, H. Doddayya PhD, *Rahul S. Pharm D, S. S. Antin and Sunil Kumar

ABSTRACT

Newly diagnosed cases in psychiatry and prescription of psychotropic drugs among them have increased tremendously and study of the prescription pattern will assess the rationality of prevailing treatment practices. The objective of the study was to assess the prescribing pattern of psychotropic drugs at the psychiatry outpatient department (OPD) in a tertiary care teaching hospital. A prospective cross sectional and observational study was carried out in the OPD for six months. Psychopharmacological medication of the patients was collected in a standard data entry form and analysed according to the World Health Organization rational drug prescribing indicators. Descriptive statistics such as frequency, percentage, mean, and standard deviation were used wherever appropriate. A total of 100 OPD prescriptions were evaluated. The average number of drugs per prescription was 2.981.3. Rational drug prescribing indicators were concluded as: The average percentage of drugs prescribed by generic name was 12.7%, while 35.9% of drugs were prescribed from list of essential drugs (EDL) and injections prescribed were high as 20.1%. Percentage of drugs prescribed as Fixed dose combination (FDC) was 7.38%. Depression was the most common psychotic disease (33%), while anxiety was second (22%), followed by Psychotic disorder (12%). Escitalopram (17.5%) was the most common antidepressant. Lorazepam (38%) was found to be most prescribed anxiolytic whereas Haloperidol (34.37%) was commonly used to treat psychotic disorder. The results indicate a considerable scope for improving the prescribing pattern of drugs in the psychiatry OPD department. The issue of number of injections prescribed need to be addressed since it might cause non-adherence in patients.

Keywords: Prescribing Pattern, Psychopharmacological Medication, Rational Prescribing.