This study was carried out to analyse drug-prescribing practices in primary healthcare centres (PHCs) in the Gaza Strip. We retrospectively evaluated 2569 prescriptions from 22 PHCs during January-December 2014. Systematic random sampling was applied. Analysis followed the World Health Organization recommended core prescribing indicators. The mean number of drugs prescribed per encounter was 2 ...

INTRODUCTION We assessed patterns of illicit drug use using mobile health (mHealth) methods and subsequent health care indicators among drug users in Baltimore, MD. METHODS Participants of the EXposure Assessment in Current Time (EXACT) study were provided a mobile device for assessment of their daily drug use (heroin, cocaine or both), mood and social context for 30 days from November 2008 t...

AIMS Drug policy strategies and discussions often use prevalence of drug use as a primary performance indicator. However, three other indicators are at least as relevant: the number of heavy users, total expenditures and total amount consumed. This paper stems from our efforts to develop annual estimates of these three measures for cocaine (including crack), heroin, marijuana and methamphetamin...

Background Occult hepatitis B infection (OBI) is considered a risk factor for progression of liver disease in patients with hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. This disease progression is reported to be more significant in those with concomitant HIV infection. We aimed to determine the prevalence rate of OBI in a sample of HIV-positive patients. Materials and Methods: Sixty-six HIV-infected pati...

This study aimed to measure the performance of primary health care centres in Eastern province, Saudi Arabia, using the WHO/International Network of Rational Use of Drugs patient care and facility-specific drug use indicators. In a cross-sectional study, 10 health centres were selected using systematic random sampling. A total of 300 patients were interviewed while visiting the centre from Janu...

Pediatric patients form a special group of population and are more vulnerable to the various adverse events related to drug use, it is important to study drug use patterns in pediatric population. To evaluate the drug utilization in an outpatient pediatric department of tertiary care hospital (SRM Medical College Hospital and Research Centre) using WHO prescribing indicators and to assess the p...

OBJECTIVES To identify indicators of quality use of medicines used in South-East Asian region. METHODS A systematic review was conducted searching MEDLINE, Embase and The International Network for Rational Use of Drugs (INRUD) and The World Health Organization (WHO) website. Original studies or reports carried out in the South-East Asian region, explicitly using indicators to measure quality ...