Prescribing Trends of Medications Ophthalmological Outpatient Department in a Public Hospital in Alkharj

Aim: The present study was undertaken to describe the prescribing pattern of medications in the ophthalmology department in a public hospital in Alkharj.

Methodology: This is a cross sectional study included collecting data from outpatient pharmacy prescriptions in a public hospital in Alkharj. All of the outpatients who received prescriptions from the ophthalmology department between the beginning of July till the end of December 2018 were included in the study.

Results: During the study period, 324 patients received outpatient prescriptions that were written by ophthalmology department. Artificial tears eye drops were the most commonly prescribed drug (29.32%) followed by olopatadine (12.96%), fusidic acid (11.42%) and fluorometholone (10.19%). Most of the prescribers who wrote the prescriptions were residents (98.15%). Eye drop was the most commonly prescribed dosage form (73.77%) followed by ointment (18.21%).

Conclusion: The present study showed that the most commonly prescribed drugs in outpatient ophthalmology department were artificial tears, olopatadine, fusidic acid and fluorometholone. It is also important to increase the awareness of healthcare providers and patients about the appropriate use of these drugs.