15 RRJPPS | Volume 7 | Issue 4 | December, 2018 Research and Reviews: Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences e-ISSN:2320-1215 p-ISSN:2322-0112 Received date: 30/10/2018 Accepted date: 19/11/2018 Published date: 21/11/2018 * For Correspondence Alaa R Alkhatib, Jordan Food and Drug Administration, Shafa Badran, Amman, 11181, Jordan. E-mail: alaa.alkhatib@jfda.jo Tel: 0790899412 Keywords: Essential drug list, Generic name, Prescribing behavior, Rational drug use, WHO prescribing indicators ABSTRACT Background: Irrational drug use is a major public health problem worldwide. Patterns of prescribing of pharmaceuticals by physicians in Jordan have been scarcely studied. Objectives: To assess the drug prescribing patterns using World Health Organization Drug Use Indicators at 7 primary health care centers in Amman, the capital of Jordan. Methods: We prospectively evaluated 1055 prescriptions over a period of 2 months from May 2017 to July 2017, using the WHO prescribing indicators recommended protocol. Core prescribing indicators assessed in this study included the average number of drugs per prescription, the percentage of drugs prescribed by generic name, the percentage of prescriptions containing injections, the percentage of prescriptions containing antibiotics, and the percentage of drugs from the essential drugs list. Results: Our results showed that the average number of drugs per prescription was 3.0, the percentage of drugs written by generic name was 50.3%, the percentage of drugs written from essential drug list was 97.6% and the percentages of prescriptions that contain injections and antibiotics were 7.1%, 61.0%, respectively. Conclusion: Three of the 5 indicators, namely, the average number of drugs per prescription, the percentage of drugs written by generic name, and the percentage of prescriptions that contain antibiotics, fell short of WHO optimal values indicating that there is a room for improvement in prescribing. ADVANCES IN KNOWLEDGE 1. Irrational drug prescribing is still a major problem in Jordan. 2. Our study provides information on the prescribing indicators in Jordan that may be useful for policy makers and for com- parison with other countries. 3. Findings of the present study showed a high rate of polypharmacy, a problem associated with many consequences for the patient as well as increased health costs. Assessment of Drug Prescribing in Jordan Using World Health Organization Indicators Alaa R Alkhatib 1 *, Anwar M Batieha 2 , Nour M Abdo 3 , Hayel M Obeidat 4 and Abdul Hakeem M Okour 5 1 Jordan Food and Drug Administration, Shafa Badran, Amman, Jordan 2 Division of Epidemiology and Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Public Health and Community Medicine, Jordan University of Science and Technology, Jordan 3 Division of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Public Health and Community Medicine, Jordan University of Science and Technology, Jordan 4 Director General of the Jordan Food and Drug Administration, ShafaBadran, Amman, Jordan 5 Division of Maternal and Child Health, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Public Health and Community Medicine, Jordan University of Science and Technology, Jordan Research Article