OBJECTIVES To assess long-term trends in the volume of ambulatory antibiotic prescriptions and prescription and consultation rates for respiratory tract infections (RTIs) in France in relation to the yearly public antibiotic campaign since 2002. METHODS Data collected on representative cohorts of office-based physicians and pharmacies in France participating in IMS Health panels between 1980 ...

The study primarily aimed at assessing the appropriateness of antibiotic prescriptions in a section of public health institutions in Lesotho using an assessment tool formulated from principles of antibiotic prescribing. Relevant data on procedures of infection diagnosis and prescribed antibiotics were collected from both inpatient and outpatient case reports for a one-month period in five publi...

Correct prescription writing habits could have a great influence on the fate of drug therapy as well as the health of patients. One of the major types of errors in prescriptions is the "errors of commission". In this study attempts were made to examine 519 prescriptions of the internal ward of Ayatollah Taleghani teaching hospital over a period of 3 months in terms of the nature and extent of t...

BACKGROUND Inappropriate prescribing has been estimated to be as high as 40% in long-term care. The purpose of this study was to develop a computer program that identifies potentially inappropriate drug prescriptions and to test its reliability. METHODS Potentially inappropriate prescriptions were identified based on modified McLeod guidelines. A database from one pharmacy servicing long-term...

Background One of the most important steps of the health transformation program involves the application of electronic prescriptions (e-prescriptions) in health services. Information technologies are highly important in generating e-prescriptions, which can be described as a document produced by authorized personnel electronically, containing written information and instructions regarding...

OBJECTIVES To investigate the trends and characteristics of pethidine prescriptions and users in Taiwan from 2002 to 2007. METHOD All pethidine users (n = 3,301,136) in Taiwan from 2002 to 2007 were linked to National Health Insurance claims to identify pethidine prescriptions. We examined the trends in pethidine user prevalence and the proportion of pethidine prescriptions according to healt...

Correct prescription writing habits could have a great influence on the fate of drug therapy as well as the health of patients. One of the major types of errors in prescriptions is the "errors of commission". In this study attempts were made to examine 519 prescriptions of the internal ward of Ayatollah Taleghani teaching hospital over a period of 3 months in terms of the nature and extent of t...

Abstract Background: Prescribing pattern is also important factor to identify the problems related to prescribing and best tool to improve the quality of prescription and patient care. Methods: The aim of current study was to evaluate the quality of prescription and prescribing practices as per WHO drug core indicators in Lahore, Pakistan. A descriptive and cross- sectional study wa...