ASSESSMENT OF DRUG USE BY USING WHO’S PRESCRIBING AND HEALTH FACILITY INDICATORS IN KOMBOLCHA HEALTH CENTERS, NORTHEAST ETHIOPIA

Despite the complexity of the drug use, several indicators have been developed, standardized and evaluated by WHO/world health organization, which provides useful means of measuring certain aspects of country’s drug use. These indicators are grouped into three categories, namely; prescribing indicators, patient care indicators, and facility indicators.  Objective: The objective of this study was to assess patterns of drug use by using WHO prescribing and health facility indicators in Kombolcha town, Amhara region, Northern Ethiopia from May 15 to May 30/2014. Methods and Material: A cross-sectional study was carried out in selected health facilities. Equal numbers of samples were selected from the three health centers (KHC 02, 03, and 05) using a random sampling method until the desired sample size was achieved. Prescriptions were assessed according to WHO/ INRUD guideline (WHO, Policy Perspective on Medicines, 2002). Result: A total of 384 prescriptions that included 796 drugs were analyzed. 780 (98%) drugs were prescribed using generic names. The average number of drugs per prescription was 2.1. In 241 (30.2%) of encounters, an antibiotic was prescribed. Injections were prescribed in 64(8%). Conclusion: Based on the finding of this study, the prescribing practices for antibiotic shows deviation from the standard recommended by WHO. On the other hand, facility indicators showed that there is a problem in providing key drugs on time and national standards like essential drug lists, formularies, and STGs which are good tools for assisting rational prescribing.