A study of prescribing patterns with special reference to drug use indicators in Dar es Salaam Region, Tanzania.

Drug prescribing patterns were studied in 720 retrospective and 779 prospective outpatient prescriptions from 20 dispensaries in Dar es Salaam region, and these revealed a mean drug exposure of 2.0 and 2.3, respectively. The percentage of patients leaving the dispensaries with no prescribed drugs was 1.3% and 0.7%, respectively. Prescriptions containing antibiotics were 36.8% (retrospective) and 39.8% (prospective), while injections accounted for 24.6% and 34% of the total encounters, respectively. Over 70% of prescriptions conformed to the Tanzania essential drug list (EDP) and/or standard treatment guidelines and consisted of 83.9% and 79.1% generic prescriptions, respectively. Interestingly, only 15% of the surveyed dispensaries had an EDP book and/or calendar. Despite the consulting and dispensing times being short (2.98 min and 77.7 s, respectively), 70% of the patients could remember the dosing instructions. Only 64% of the patients had a minimum physical examination.