International Classification of Diseases

This study was conducted to Asses the prescribing pattern in representative sample of 24 secondary level government hospitals in Tamilnadu. A copy of the prescription was obtained with the help of a pre-inserted carbon, in a special format. Data for only ‘first encounter prescriptions’ was collected for all patients attending the Outpatient Department (OPD). A total of prescription has been collected. About 68 percent of the prescriptions contained only one diagnosis. The average number of drugs per prescription was 4. About 80 percent of the drugs were prescribed by generic names and about 53 percent of the prescribed drugs were in combination. About 12 percent of the prescriptions contained at least one injection, while 56 percent contained at least one antibiotic. In 16 percent of the prescriptions a vitamin or tonic was prescribed. About 46 percent of the single ingredient formulations were as per the WHO 2003, Essential Medicines List (EML). Based on the findings of the Prescription Audit an EML was prepared for each category of the secondary level hospitals, for use in the OPD. Prescription audits are useful in generating data on morbidity, which forms the basis for preparing the list of essential medicines. Mechanisms necessary for improving Prescription practices are suggested.