[Drugs in primary health care centres: availability and prescription in health district, Monastir, Tunisia]

Shortages in the availability of some drugs are sometimes noted in primary health care [PHC] centres in spite of the steady increase in the drug budgets in Tunisia. We conducted a survey therefore in 1998 in the health district of Monastir to study the availability of certain essential drugs [n = 15] in PHC centres and the main features of the drug prescription. We found that the drugs lacking were generally those prescribed for chronic diseases and as well as oral antibiotics. Antibiotic treatment constituted 71.8% of public prescriptions and 32.3% of these prescriptions were for an injectable treatment

[ antibiotherapy in general medicine in Monastir, Tunisia]

In order to determine the cost and frequency of antibiotic prescription by general practitioners, we studied 563 outpatients from health centres in Monastir [Tunisia]. All patients had acute diseases. Antibiotics were prescribed to 50.4%. Single antibiotics were generally prescribed, but 52.8% of these patients did not have any laboratory tests. The more frequently used antibiotics were penicillin G and A. Antibiotics cost represented 34.7% of medicinal cost borne by patients and 49.7% of the cost borne by the public sector. Rationalization of medicinal prescription would have a positive impact on household and state budgets