ASSESSMENT OF DISPENSING PRACTICE AND QUALITY OF PHARMACEUTICAL SERVICE AT HARAR GENERAL HOSPITAL EASTERN ETHIOPIA

Abstract

Introduction

The  dispensing practice effectiveness was affected by the way the drugs were dispensed and the types of information delivered to the patients during dispensing. Therefore, assessing dispensing practice and quality of pharmaceutical services helps us to identify the main factors encountered during dispensing practice and helps to contribute knowledge for pharmacists to identify major causes for dispensing errors.

Objectives

The aim of this study was to assess the dispensing practice and quality of pharmaceutical service at Harar general hospital in Harar town eastern Ethiopia.  From April 11 to 30, 2019..

Methods

A cross-sectional study was conducted in Harar General hospital .of Harar town, located 516 km east of Addis Ababa. All (pharmacists and druggists) dispensers who were worked at Harar General Hospital and randomly selected patients included in the study. The data were collected using  pretested structured questionnaires and an observational checklist . SPSS Version 21 for windows was used for data processing.

Results

The majority of respondents-LRB- 81% of respondent got drugs from the pharmacy more than two drugs while the remaining 19% of respondent get only one drug from the pharmacy. Among the respondents , 76.5% get all drugs that prescribed by the prescriber and 23.5% of respondent do not get all drugs that prescribed medication. Ninety- eight percent of respondents were given instructions on how to take their medicine. Only 2% were not given any instructions. The majority of respondents spend time with a dispenser in the pharmacy between one up to three minutes 51percent , between thirty seconds up to one minute 25percent, three up to five minutes 21 percent, under thirty seconds 6 % , and 3 % of respondents spend time more than five minutes with a dispenser. A pharmacist issued out the medicine in 41 percent of patients encounters, pharmacy technologists , 19 percent of the encounters. Out of the observations made, the dispenser confirmed 42.7 % of the names of patients, and  45.4 % of patients were shown the drugs that were being dispensed to them during counseling.

Conclusion

The average dispensing time was shorter than the WHO standards. The  majority of the patients interviewed were usually not told about the names of their medications. The  percentage of drug availability was over 76.5 %, but low compared to the WHO standard. Patients had  good knowledge of how to take their medication, although information on labels was inadequate.