title: Drug prescription habits in public and private health facilities in 2 provinces in South Africa.
abstract: The aim of this study was to explore drug prescription habits using WHO standard indicators in public hospitals and 36 private surgeries in 2 provinces in South Africa. A high mean number of drugs were prescribed per patient (3.2 versus 2.8) in public hospitals and by general practitioners (GPs) respectively andc generic prescribing rates were low (45.2% versus 24.5%). The rates of prescribing in public hospitals and by GPsa were 8.3% versus 23.3% for injections, 68.1% versus 31.9% for antibiotics and 92.6% versus 68.5% for drugs from the essential drugs list. Drug prescribing in both sectors needs to be regulated, especially the use of antibiotics, essential drugs and generic prescribing.
authors.affiliation: Health Systems Development Unit, Human Sciences Research Council, Pretoria, South Africa.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Mohlala
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Peltzer
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Phaswana-Mafuya
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ramlagan
mesh_terms: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D011307:Drug Prescriptions / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D004363:Drug Utilization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D018954:Drugs, Essential / Q000627:therapeutic use; D016568:Drugs, Generic / Q000627:therapeutic use; D033161:Government Regulation; D019983:Guideline Adherence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006291:Health Policy; D006779:Hospitals, Public / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D010821:Physicians, Family / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians' / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011331:Private Practice / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013019:South Africa
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D018954:Drugs, Essential; D016568:Drugs, Generic