ABSTRACT
Background: Evaluation of drug use and patient care practice is a very vital aspect of patient care. It also measures the quality of care provided by health practitioners for patients. Data from this study is very essential in healthcare management and planning. Objectives: To assess drug use and patient care practices at the outpatient section of a referral hospital in Yenagoa; south-south; Nigeria; using WHO drug use indictors. Methods: The study was conducted at Federal Medical Centre; Yenagoa; Bayelsa State. A total of 2450 prescriptions from the outpatient pharmacy were selected by systematic sampling and retrospectively studied. A prospective study of the patient care practices and health facility indicators; which include consultation and dispensing times; revenue time; Patient's knowledge of their medications and availability of key essential drugs; was also undertaken. Data collected was analyzed using WHO guideline for assessment of drug use in healthy facilities. Results: The average number of drugs prescribed per encounter was 3.4; Percentage of encounters with at least an antibiotic prescribed was 35.5. Injections were prescribed in 22of encounters. 62of drugs were prescribed by generic name while 87of drugs prescribed were from the essential drug list. The mean consultation and dispensing times were 11.5 and 3.5 minutes respectively. Two out of every three patients interviewed knew both the names and the duration of their medications while four out of every five knew the correct dosage of their medications. Conclusion: Many of the prescribing and patient care indicators assessed were found to be inappropriate and need to be improved upon. . There was high tendency of poly- pharmacy and over prescription of antibiotics. The patients' knowledge of vital aspects of medication management was found to be inadequate. The overall picture of drug use suggests that the indicators at this facility are not yet at the optimal level