title: Compliance with good practice in prescription writing at outpatient clinics in Saudi Arabia.
abstract: A sample of prescription orders received from outpatient departments by a hospital pharmacy in Asir, Saudi Arabia, were analysed over 1 year for the essential elements of prescriptions. The prescriber's name, address and signature were on 83.3%, 9.6% and 81.9% of prescriptions respecti-vely. The patient's name, age and sex were on 94.6%, 77.3% and 51.3%. No prescription contained the patient's address and weight. Generic drug names were used in only 15.1% and strength of medication and dose units were included in 26.6% and 55.6% of prescriptions. Most prescriptions (94.0%) had no quantity indicated and had only partial instructions for patient use (90.7%); the diagnosis was included in about two-thirds. The prescriber's handwriting was illegible in 64.3% of prescriptions. Measures to improve the situation are suggested.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Pharmacology, College of Medicine, King Khalid University, Abha, Saudi Arabia. yacoubmf@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Y M
authors.initials: YM
authors.lastname: Irshaid
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Al Homrany
authors.forename: A A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Hamdi
authors.forename: K K
authors.initials: KK
authors.lastname: Adjepon-Yamoah
authors.forename: A A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Mahfouz
mesh_terms: D000553:Ambulatory Care / Q000592:standards*; D019985:Benchmarking / Q000592:standards*; D004282:Documentation / Q000592:standards; D011307:Drug Prescriptions / Q000592:standards*; D017723:Drug Utilization Review; D016568:Drugs, Generic / Q000627:therapeutic use; D004501:Education, Medical / Q000592:standards; D019983:Guideline Adherence / Q000592:standards*; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D006302:Health Services Research; D006801:Humans; D008485:Medical Audit; D008508:Medication Errors / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D010043:Outcome and Process Assessment, Health Care; D010353:Patient Education as Topic / Q000592:standards; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians' / Q000592:standards*; D012529:Saudi Arabia
chemical_list: D016568:Drugs, Generic