title: Evaluation of drug use in Jordan using WHO prescribing indicators.
abstract: Patterns of prescribing and use of pharmaceuticals by physicians and patients in Jordan have not previously been studied. We retrospectively evaluated pharmaceutical drug prescribing practices in 21 primary health care facilities in Irbid governorate, northern Jordan using World Health Organization-recommended core indicators. The mean number of drugs prescribed was 2.3 overall, ranging from 1.9 to 3.0. The percentage of drugs prescribed by generic name was very low, as was the percentage of prescriptions involving injections. The percentages of prescriptions involving antibiotics and drugs from the essential drugs list averaged 60.9% and 93% respectively. We conclude that the prescribing and use of drugs in Jordan requires rationalization, particularly the over-prescribing of antibiotics and the under-prescribing of generic drugs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, Jordan University of Science and Technology, Irbid, Jordan.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Otoom
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Batieha
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hadidi
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hasan
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Al-Saudi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002648:Child; D011307:Drug Prescriptions / Q000592:standards* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D004363:Drug Utilization / Q000592:standards* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D018954:Drugs, Essential / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016568:Drugs, Generic / Q000627:therapeutic use; D019983:Guideline Adherence / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006291:Health Policy; D006302:Health Services Research; D006801:Humans; D007267:Injections; D007597:Jordan; D008485:Medical Audit; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians' / Q000592:standards* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011320:Primary Health Care / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D019984:Quality Indicators, Health Care / Q000592:standards* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014944:World Health Organization
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D018954:Drugs, Essential; D016568:Drugs, Generic