A STUDY OF PRESCRIBING PATTERNS WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO DRUG-USE INDICATORS IN DAR-ES-SALAAM REGION, TANZANIA

Drug prescribing patterns were studied in 720 retrospective and 779 pr ospective outpatient prescriptions from 20 dispensaries in Dar es Sala am region, and these revealed a mean drug exposure of 2.0 and 2.3, res pectively. The percentage of patients leaving the dispensaries with no prescribed drugs was 1.3% and 0.7%, respectively. Prescriptions conta ining antibiotics were 36.8% (retrospective) and 39.8% (prospective), while injections accounted for 24.6% and 34% of the total encounters, respectively. Over 70% of prescriptions conformed to the Tanzania esse ntial drug list (EDP) and/or standard treatment guidelines and consist ed of 83.9% and 79.1% generic prescriptions, respectively. Interesting ly, only 15% of the surveyed dispensaries had an EDP book and/or calen dar. Despite the consulting and dispensing times being short (2.98 min and 77.7 s, respectively), 70% of the patients could remember the dos ing instructions. Only 64% of the patients had a minimum physical exam ination.