Prescription patterns and cost analysis of drugs in a base hospital in south India.
Article
in English
| IMSEAR
| ID: sea-118767
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND. In the rural areas of developing countries the cost of drugs is a major concern to both physician and patient; yet there are few data on prescribing patterns and expenditure. We examined the cost of commonly prescribed drugs in a community health care programme in a base hospital of the Christian Medical College, Vellore. METHODS. The study was carried out over a period of 3 months during which 2756 prescriptions were analysed. The number and type of drugs prescribed and the frequency and total cost of the prescriptions were noted. RESULTS. The number of drugs prescribed for each patient ranged from 1 to 7 with a mean (SD) of 2.4 (1.1). The most commonly prescribed groups of drugs were vitamins, analgesics, antibiotics, sulphonamides and anti-inflammatory agents. The mean (SD) cost per prescription was Rs 8.8 (8.6). The expenditure on the most commonly used drugs was approximately 50% of the total cost. The cost per prescription was less than Rs 10 in 70% of the cases. All the drugs were from the World Health Organization's essential drugs list. CONCLUSIONS. Most prescriptions for drugs given at our hospital could be afforded by villagers.
Full text:
Available
Index:
IMSEAR (South-East Asia)
Main subject:
Prescription Fees
/
Drug Prescriptions
/
Costs and Cost Analysis
/
Hospitals, University
/
India
Type of study:
Health economic evaluation
Country/Region as subject:
Asia
Language:
English
Year:
1994
Type:
Article
Similar
MEDLINE
...
LILACS
LIS