Drug utilization pattern in outpatient department of Government Medical College and C.P.R. Hospital, Kolhapur

Background: Drug utilization studies are used to analyze different aspects of the use of drugs and to implement methods of improving therapeutic quality. This study was conducted to study drug prescription pattern in outpatient department of Government Medical College and C.P.R. Hospital, Kolhapur which is one of the important medical college in western Maharashtra. Methods: One thousand prescriptions were screened & analyzed as per the study parameters from OPD of Government Medical College & C.P.R. Hospital, Kolhapur. Study parameters like demographic profile of the patient like age, sex and diagnosis were recorded. Also groups of drugs commonly prescribed, number of drugs per patient, drug profile and drawbacks of prescription if any were recorded and analyzed. Results: Most common group of drugs prescribed by physicians was Analgesics (32.83%), followed by Antimicrobials (22.82%), Multivitamins (16.42%) and Antacids (9.14%). The average number of drugs prescribed per patient was four; the average number of analgesic was one. The incidence of polypharmacy was common occurrence and some prescriptions had small drawbacks like absence of diagnosis, absence of doctor’s signature, etc. Conclusions: We conclude that most of the prescriptions which were analyzed at R.C.S.M. Government Medical College and C.P.R. Hospital, Kolhapur, were according to the standard norms of WHO prescriptions and also most of the drugs prescribed were from the list of essential drug list. But still there is scope for improvement in prescription pattern. [Int J Basic Clin Pharmacol 2013; 2(4.000): 403-406]