Patterns and Appropriateness of Psychotropic Medications Prescribing in Primary Healthcare in Jordan.

Background: Although psychotropic medications (PMs) have enormous adverse events and may cause serious harm if administered inappropriately, there is a scarcity of research concerning the patterns and appropriateness of prescribing these medications in primary care in Jordan. This study aimed to investigate the patterns and appropriateness of PM prescription in primary care, as well as the types and frequency of pharmacist interventions in community pharmacies.

Methods: A prospective observational study was conducted in 16 community pharmacies across Jordan. A data reporting sheet was developed, validated, piloted to ensure its applicability, and filled out over 12 weeks (April to June 2023), covering three regions in Jordan.

Results: Overall, 426 patients with 469 prescriptions containing 919 PM orders were observed. Among the PMs prescribed, 19.4% were prescribed inappropriately. Among the PMs, 78.7% were dispensed by pharmacists. The inappropriate prescription categories (n = 178) were overprescribing (45, 25.3%), underprescribing (19, 10.7%), inappropriate medication choice (39, 21.9%), inappropriate duration of medication therapy (64, 36.0%), and inappropriate medication dosage (11, 6.2%). The top therapeutic category requested was anti-epileptics (23.9%).

Conclusions: This study evaluated the prescribing patterns and appropriateness of PMs in Jordan, revealing notable instances of inappropriate PM prescriptions alongside varied and extensive pharmacist interventions.