Essay On Rational Drug Use

- Rational Drug Use requires that the patient receives medications appropriate to his or her clinical needs and in doses that meet their own individual requirements for an adequate period of time and the lowest cost to them and community. This actually means that the correct medicine is chosen based on the safety, efficacy, suitability and cost for the appropriate indication and also the drug is correctly dispensed in a most suitable dosage formulation with accurate and appropriate information that a patient can understand and adheres to the treatment.

- Irrational Drug Use: is when one or more conditions of rational drug use are not met. It’s a very serious problem in global public health. WHO estimated that many medicines which are either prescribed, dispensed and or sold are in inappropriate way and many patients do not take or adhere to the medicines as prescribed by the physicians.

CAUSES OF

2) Inappropriate use of antibiotics, most often in inadequate dosage.

3) Over-use or misuse or under-use of drugs.

4) Improper self-medication, often with prescription-only drugs.

5) Poor communication between health-care professionals and patients.

6) Failure to prescribe in accordance with standard clinical guidelines.

HAZARDS OF IRRATIONAL DRUG USE:

- Medicines if not used with proper care and precautions, they can harm the patient’s normal physiological system, so in order to be on a safe side, the medicines should be of good quality, efficacy, safety and most importantly to be used rational. In case if the medicines are used in irrational way then it may cause many health hazards like:

1) Increase in many Adverse Drug Reactions (ADR).

2) Cause prolongation of illnesses.

3) Loss of patient’s faith and confidence in health care system.

4) Causes an increase in cost of the treatment.

5) Causes an increase in morbidity and mortality.

6) Leads to widespread antibiotic resistance.

RATIONAL DRUG