Research Article
Open Access
Comprehensive Analysis of Medication Prescription and Utilization Trends among Healthcare Practitioners Affiliated with CHAG
Whiteside Flesher1*, Krass Gelissen2, Wince Tomlinson2,3, Horvath Peters3
1School of Pharmacy, University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, NR4 7TJ, UK
2College of Life Sciences, University of Leicester, University Road, Leicester, UK
3Pharmacy Department, Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, Norwich, UK
Whiteside Flesher. Comprehensive Analysis of Medication Prescription and Utilization Trends among Healthcare Practitioners Affiliated with CHAG. Int.J. MediPharm Res. 2024,10(2),pp 27-33
Abstract
This study analyzed medicine consumption and related expenditure across 31 health facilities under
the Christian Health Association of Ghana (CHAG) to identify usage trends of essential medicines and inform
the development of a digital pharmaceutical supply chain management system for CHAG providers. A one-year
retrospective, cross-sectional review of drug consumption and expenditure data was conducted using the Always
Better Control (ABC) analytical framework. Medicines were classified into three categories based on their
contribution to total annual consumption: Category A (top 80%), Category B (next 15%), and Category C (lowest
5%). The top twenty Category A essential medicines were further categorized according to their Anatomical
Therapeutic Chemical (ATC) codes to determine the therapeutic groups with the highest utilization. The total
expenditure on essential medicines in 2016 was GHS 29,327,267 (US$6,665,288) for hospitals and GHS
2,923,561 (US$664,445) for clinics. The ABC analysis indicated that 23.9% of hospital medicines accounted for
79.4% of the total drug budget, while 31.5% of clinic medicines accounted for 79.5% of the budget, representing
Category A items. ATC categorization of the top twenty medicines highlighted a predominance of antibiotic
use, which corresponded with the highest costs for the facilities. The findings demonstrate that ABC and ATC
analyses provide an effective framework for prioritizing essential medicines, guiding expenditure management,
and supporting cost-effective decision-making. In preparation for CHAG’s planned digital supply chain system,
this approach offers valuable insights for optimizing medicine selection, improving resource allocation, and
achieving significant cost savings on high-value medications.
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