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IMPORTANCE OF RIGHT ADVICE/ INSTRUCTIONS:

  • Counseling/ Guidance is an essential element of the dispensing process, ensuring patients or their carers have sufficient information to enable:

– An understanding of their medicines

– Intended therapeutic effect 

– To minimize the risk of adverse effects.

  • As a result of dispensing, patients or their carers should:

– Receive clearly and correctly labeled medicines

– Understand how and when to use the prescribed medicines

– Understand how to store the medicines

– Have access to a pharmacist for professional counseling and advice

  • Relevant information pamphlets may be provided to the patient as appropriate
importance_of_right_advice

RATIONAL DRUG USE:

World Health Organization (WHO) defines RDU as “Rational Drug Use (RDU) is an appropriate and efficacious prescribing, marketing, and use with appropriate safety and quality on affordable prices.”
RDU follows the Rule of Rights:

  • Right patient
  • Right drug
  • Right time
  • Right dose
  • Right route

INCORRECT USE OF MEDICINES:

WHO states, “Half of medicines are prescribed, dispensed or sold inappropriately and that half of all patients fail to take them correctly by over use, under use or misuse of medicines.”

Problems

Consequences
  • Prescription switching
  • Poly pharmacy
  • Self-medication
  • Overuse and underuse of medicines
  • Inappropriate prescribing of medicines
  • Patient’s noncompliance and adherence
  • Adverse drug reactions
  • Loss of health and wealth
  • Antimicrobial resistance
  • Medication errors

Antibiotic Resistance: 

In May 2014, the World Health Organization (WHO) stated, “AMR crisis is becoming dire.”
Causes of Antibiotic Resistance:

  • Misuse of antibiotics
  • Unnecessary prescription of antibiotics for viral infections
  • Frequent prescription of “broad-spectrum antibiotics” instead of a better targeted antibiotic
  • Inadequate use by the patient, not completing duration of treatment. 
  • Over/Under dose prescription of antibiotics
  • Poor infection control in health care settings
  • Poor hygiene and sanitation conditions
  • Absence of new antibiotics being discovered

CONSEQUENCES OF ANTIBIOTIC RESISTENCE:

  • The resistance may delay and interfere the treatment resulting in complications
  • Patient may need more care as well as use of alternative and more expensive antibiotics
  • Severe side effects
  • Increased cost of therapy
  • Cause severe damage to patient’s health
  • Morbidity and mortality

The rational use of drugs. Report of the Conference of Experts. Nairobi, 25-29. November 1985, WHO) ICIUM, http://apps.who.int/medicinedocs/documents/s17054e/s17054e.pdf

Begum, Tanzima, et al. “An Audit of Rational Use of Antibiotics in a Tertiary Hospital.” Delta Medical College Journal, vol. 2, no. 2, 2014, doi:10.3329/dmcj.v2i2.20526

Smith, G. what FIP and WHO doing to fight the problem of counterfeit drug? Phar.J 2004; 273,: 394-396

 

This content is only intended for Pharmacy staff for the purpose of creating awareness and disseminating knowledge.