Dear e-drug friends,
Please help! I'm looking for data on the derivation of the WHO prescribing
"norms": ie the actual data/economic assumptions, etc on which they
are based. I've just finished an audit of our local clinics, and to
my surprise, we actually "score" quite well although other measures
show the service to be extremely wasteful (mean waste per script
about 50% of total cost...).
I look forward to hearing from you.
Regards,
Andy Parrish
Specialist Physician
Department of Medicine, Cecilia Makiwane Hospital, Mdantsane
East London
South Africa
Note from the moderator:
The "norms" of prescribing practices (WHO drug use indicators) do not really
exist. Drug use indicator studies have been carried out in many countries and
the collective results have given some idea on what is within "normal" ranges,
and what are clearly outlier values. Since inappropriate drug use is a reality
in many health care settings, these "normal" values are probably still quite
different from the "ideal" values. This may explain Dr Parrish' pleasant
surprise, although it does not necessarily mean that improvement is not
possible.
The "ideal" values are difficult to determine, since they depend of many
variables. To my knowledge, work is now being done to define the "ideal" ranges.
INRUD (e-mail: inrud@msh-dc.org) may be able to clarify.
Hilbrand Haak, moderator e-drug, 102347.1567@compuserve.com