BackGovt plans prescription audit to fight antibiotic resistance
The govt will soon start a pilot project to start prescription audit in select hospitals across the country before extending it to all health facilities
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Taking serious note of increasing resistance to antibiotics in the country, the ministry of health and family welfare has decided to start prescription audit in government health facilities. It will soon start a pilot programme in select hospitals across the country before extending it to all health facilities.
Analysis of medical prescriptions containing antibiotics helps in finding cases of overuse of medicines. Doctors and institutes can then be asked to reduce dosage of medicines while prescribing to patients.
“Antibiotic resistance has become a serious issue, though it is not limited to India. We will start prescription audit in big hospitals first," said Anshu Prakash, joint secretary, ministry of health.
The modalities, including the list of hospitals, are yet to be decided. It is not yet clear whether the programme will be extended to private hospitals.
The ministry is also finalizing guidelines for hospitals and laboratories to curb antibiotic resistance even as drafts of the guidelines are being discussed by health experts.
“We are finalizing two sets of guidelines, Infection Control in Hospital Practices for hospitals and Standard Operating Procedures for Mycology and Becteriology for laboratories. This will help in controlling hospital-acquired infection and hence less need for antibiotic for patients," said Prakash.
India has the highest rate of antibiotic resistance in the world. According to a study, The State of the World’s Antibiotics 2015 by Delhi-based research organisation Centre for Disease Dynamics, Economics and Policy (CDDEP), resistance to some medicines has touched almost 50%. Maximum resistance is found against fluoroquinolones, used to treat respiratory disorders and which are the first line of treatment for infectious diseases like tuberculosis. The study also found that India was the largest consumer of antibiotics in 2000-2010, followed by China and the US.
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