Drug use evaluation is a system of ongoing, systematic, criteria-based drug evaluation that ensures the appropriate use of drugs. The main objective of this study was to assess the drug prescribing patterns at Dessie Referral Hospital using some of the WHO core drug use indicators. Institutional based descriptive cross sectional study was conducted from April 28 to May 10, 2013 by reviewing 362 prescription papers which were selected using systematic random sampling technique. The average

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... of drugs per prescription was 1.8. Out of all prescribed drugs 91.7% were available in the national Essential Drug List (EDL) and 93.9% of them were prescribed by generic name. The percentage of encounters prescribed with an antibiotic and injection were 52.8% and 31%, respectively. The most commonly prescribed forms of antibiotics were amoxicillin (22.2%) and ampicillin (21.3%). Based on the finding of this study, the prescribing practices for antibiotic and injection showed deviation from the standard recommended by WHO. So, there is a clear need for medical education programs which should rationalize the prescribing of antibiotics and injections. Keywords: Rational drug use, generic name, WHO core drug use indicators, drug prescribing pattern. INTRODUCTION Rational use of medicines requires that patients receive medications appropriate to their clinical needs, in doses that meet their own individual requirements for an adequate period of time, and at the lowest cost to them and their community. Rational drug use evaluation is a system of ongoing, systematic, criteria-based drug evaluation that ensures the appropriate use of drugs [1]. Drugs are important components of health care system and play a crucial role in saving life. The limited information on drug use throughout the world indicates that drugs are not optimally used. This inappropriate use has serious health and economic consequences for the success of national health care system [2]. Irrational use of drugs may take many different forms, such as; poly-pharmacy, over-use of antibiotics and injections, failure to prescribe in accordance with clinical guidelines and inappropriate self-medication [3]. The irrational use of drugs becomes the world wide problem encompassing developing and developed countries; developing countries have rather worsened condition [4, 5]. Globally, more than 50 % of all medicines are prescribed and dispensed inappropriately, while 50 % of patients fail to take the prescribed drugs correctly. Moreover, about one third of the world population lacks access to essential medicines [6, 7, 8]. A national baseline study on drug use indicators in Ethiopia showed that percentage of drugs prescribed by generic name was 87% and the average number of drugs prescribed per encounter found to be 1.9. According to the study, the percentage of encounters with an injection and antibiotic was reported as 23% & 58.1% respectively [9]. Rational drug use is complex subject involving the physician, the patient and the dispenser. Each of these is influenced by many factors that are often difficult to measure and quantify. Despite complexity of drug use, a number of indicators have been developed, standardized and evaluated by WHO. These indicators are grouped in to three categories namely: prescribing indicators, patient care indicators and facility indicators [1]. These indicators of prescribing practices measure the performance of health care providers in several key dimensions related to the appropriate use of drugs. The core prescribing indicators measure general prescribing tendencies within a given setting, independent of specific diagnoses [4]. According to WHO drug use evaluation guideline, outpatient prescribing indicators used includes average number of drugs per encounter, percentage of drugs prescribed in generics, percentage of prescriptions with Admassu Assen et al.