Drug Prescription Analysis using Digital Platform in a Tertiary Care Hospital: An Approach for Rational Pharmacotherapeutics

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Background: Conventional prescriptions aim to ensure safe, effective and economical pharmacotherapy. However, irrational practices, such as misuse of antibiotics, irrational fixed-dose combinations (FDCs) and preference for branded drugs, persist, leading to adverse outcomes and higher healthcare costs. Capturing huge data manually is difficult; therefore, induction of digital tools in prescription analysis through digital platform is important to evaluate the prescribing trends in a tertiary care hospital, assessing various prescribing indicators and use of FDCs and medicines from the National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM), 2022. Methodology: A prospective observational study was conducted from June 2023 to January 2024. Prescriptions from various outpatient departments were analysed using the VaidyaRx digital prescription analytics platform. Prescribing indicators, use of NLEM medicines and FDCs were evaluated, with descriptive statistics applied for analysis. Results: In the study, 2270 prescriptions comprising 5552 drugs were analysed. The average number of drugs per prescription was 2.5. Generic prescribing accounted for 36.6%, while 39.7% of drugs were from the NLEM 2022. Antibiotics were prescribed in 14.5% of encounters, and injections were used in only 2.2%. FDCs constituted 22.1% of prescriptions, with pantoprazole + domperidone and amoxicillin + clavulanate being the most common. Conclusion: The study highlights the use of digital analytical platforms to identify and understand prescribing trends. Strengthening antibiotic stewardship, promoting generic prescribing and ensuring rational use of FDCs are vital for optimising pharmacotherapy and aligning with guidelines. Integrating platforms like VaidyaRx offers a promising technology-driven approach to monitor and improve prescription practices.