Mohlala, G., Peltzer, K., Phaswana-Mafuya, N. & Ramlagan, S. (2010) Drug prescription habits in public and private health facilities in 2 provinces in South Africa. Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal. 16(3):324-328.

Source :	Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal
Keywords :	public hospitals / drug prescription / public health / drugs / medical practitioners
Team :	Mohlala, G. Ramlagan, Shandir (Mr S.) Phaswana-Mafuya, Nancy (Prof M.N.) Peltzer, Karl (Prof K.F.)
Department(s) :	HIV/AIDS, STIs and TB
Output type :	Journal Article peer-reviewed
Print :	HSRC Library: shelf number 6262
If you would like to obtain a copy of this Research Output, please contact Hanlie Rossinger at researchoutputs@hsrc.ac.za.

Abstract :
The aim of this study was to explore drug prescription habits using WHO standard indicators in 15 public hospitals and 36 private surgeries in 2 provinces in South Africa. A high mean number of drugs were prescribed per patient (3.2 versus 2.8) in public hospitals and by general practitioners (GPs) respectively and generic prescribing rates were low (45.2% versus 24.5%). The rates of prescribing in public hospitals and by GPs were 8.3% versus 23.3% for injections, 68.1% versus 31.9% for antibiotics and 92.6% versus 68.5% for drugs from the essential drugs list. Drug prescribing in both sectors needs to be regulated, especially the use of antibiotics, essential drugs and generic prescribing.

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