Assessment of drug use patterns in terms of the WHO patient-care and facility indicators at four hospitals in Southern Ethiopia: a cross-sectional study.
Patient-centered care is now the goal for virtually all healthcare systems. The aim of this research was to evaluate the patient care quality in regard to drug dispensing in four hospitals in southern Ethiopia namely Wolaita Sodo University teaching and referral hospital (WSUTRH), Tercha zonal hospital (TZH), Sodo Christian hospital (SCH) and Dubo St. Mary's Catholic primary hospital (DSMCPH).



A cross sectional study was conducted by using the WHO patient care and facility indicators between September 10 and October 20, 2014. Patients who visited the outpatient departments of the four hospitals were selected by systematic random sampling method and interviewed. In total 384 patients were selected based on a rough estimate of proportion of patients visiting to the four hospitals. Facility indicators including the availability of essential drugs list (EDL), national drug formulary, standard treatment guideline (STG) and key drugs were evaluated. Descriptive statistical calculations were performed using SPSS® version 20.0 software.



The mean number of drugs was in the range between 1.9 ± 0.9 to 2.2 ± 2.0. The mean consultation time range was found to be 4.2 ± 1.6 to 4.9 ± 5.0 min whereas the mean dispensing time was ranged from 96.1 ± 52.0 to 152.3 ± 47.6 s. The overall mean number of drug prescribed for the four hospitals was 2.0 ± 1.2 and the mean percentage of medications actually dispensed in the hospitals was thus calculated to be 86.3. The mean percentage of medications clearly labeled was 45.4. Patients who knew their dosage forms accurately were 78.8. Among the four hospitals evaluated only one hospital (25 %) had at least a copy of the Ethiopian essential drug list (EDL), standard treatment guideline for hospitals and drug formulary. The mean availability of key drugs in the hospitals was found to be 65.7 %.



The result of the present study indicates that the patient consulting time, medications labeling and availability of key drugs in the hospitals are inadequate. The medication labeling practice in the four hospitals is unacceptably low. These patient care indicators need a special attention for improvement.
School of public health, College of health Sciences and Medicine, Wolaita Sodo University, Wolaita Sodo, Ethiopia.
Kassa Daka
KD
Gidebo
School of Medicine, College of health Sciences and Medicine, Wolaita Sodo University, Wolaita Sodo, Ethiopia. teme.yene2003@gmail.com.
Temesgen Sidamo
TS
Summoro
School of Medicine, College of health Sciences and Medicine, Wolaita Sodo University, Wolaita Sodo, Ethiopia.
Zewde Zema
ZZ
Kanche
School of public health, College of health Sciences and Medicine, Wolaita Sodo University, Wolaita Sodo, Ethiopia.
Eskinder Wolka
EW
Woticha
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004348:Drug Labeling / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011307:Drug Prescriptions / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D017723:Drug Utilization Review; D018954:Drugs, Essential / Q000600:supply & distribution* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D004522:Educational Status; D005002:Ethiopia; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006784:Hospitals, Teaching / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006785:Hospitals, University / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D005791:Patient Care; D018802:Patient-Centered Care / Q000592:standards*; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians'; D011787:Quality of Health Care; D012017:Referral and Consultation; D014944:World Health Organization; D055815:Young Adult
D018954:Drugs, Essential
Drug use patterns; Drugs; Ethiopia; Facility indicators; Patient care indicators