Prescription Audit A Part Of Holistic Clinical Audit Using WHO Recommended Core Drug Use Indicators In SLN Medical College & Hospital Koraput, Odisha

Background: Rational prescribing is critical in optimizing care for patients while minimizing the dangers of irrational use of drugs. This study was conducted with the objective to assess prescription practice at SLN Medical College and Hospital, Koraput using WHO core drug use indicators.Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in the OPD of SLN MCH Koraput over six months, from January to June 2023. A total of 500 prescriptions were analyzed for completeness, adherence to WHO core drug use indicators, and prescribing practices. Descriptive statistics and SPSS version 16.0 were used for data analysis.Results: The required general details in the prescriptions were included in 80% while 75% contained sufficient medical components. The prescribing indicators indicated 85% compliance to appropriate selection of drugs, 65% complied with correct dosage, and only 55% with appropriate treatment duration. The patient care indicators showed that the consultation times of prescriptions met WHO standards for 90%, while 80% of dispensing times met recommendations. Availability of essential drugs was reported to be at 80%. 90% of the OPDs have an EDL.Conclusion: Although the hospital demonstrated compliance to some of the WHO guidelines, glaring loopholes remain in dosage precision, treatment length, and follow-up prescription. These observations call for education, training, and infrastructure upgrading to improve medication use rationally and patient care.