Assessment of Prescription Design in Dental University Hospitals, Karachi, Pakistan

Objectives: The survey was carried out to assess the prescribing pattern of dental professionals in dental teaching hospitals in Karachi, Pakistan.
Methods: 200 prescriptions written by dental students in their clinical years or house job were analysed and the presence or absence of all aspects of a well written prescription, the presence of certain prescription errors and the number of antimicrobials, analgesics, toothpastes and mouthwashes prescribed was recorded for each prescription using a checklist based form. Results were calculated using SPSS 16.
Results: Only 8 parameters out of 17 were mentioned in more than 50% of the prescriptions, the most common being the brand names of drugs prescribed and the least common being generic names of drugs. Analgesics were found to be the most common kind of drug prescribed, antimicrobials being the second most common. Unmentioned route of drug administration was the most common error, being absent in 188 prescriptions. Apart from some other errors and omissions, 17% of the prescriptions were illegible and 69% had no prescriber's signature. Possible future drug-drug interactions were noted.
Conclusions: The prescription writing skills of dental students and house officers in dental teaching hospitals in Karachi are far from perfect. More education in this area needs to be given and prescribers should be made to follow strict guidelines. There is a need to spread awareness about common prescription errors and their complications.