Core drug dispensing indicators in primary care in Botswana (N=6827 prescribed drugs,† n=2994 patients)
| Ngami (n=1000) | Gaborone (n=997) | Kgalagadi (n=997) | Clinics (n=2000) | Health posts (n=994) | Total (n=2294) | Statistical significance‡ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| †Missing information on mode of dispensing for calculation of core drug dispensing indicators: 101. | |||||||
| ‡Statistical significance: 1=Ngami-Gaborone, 2=Gaborone-Kgalagadi, 3=Ngami-Kgalagadi, 4=Clinics-health posts; * p<0.01 , **p <0.001. | |||||||
| §Mean total dispensing time is the total time spent by the patient at the dispensing counter and includes the time used by the dispenser to inform and counsel the patient. | |||||||
| ¶Mean counselling time is the time used by the dispenser to inform and counsel the patient at the dispensing counter. | |||||||
| ††Amount of medicines received by the patient which were actually prescribed. | |||||||
| Dispensing indicators | |||||||
| Mean (95% CI) total dispensing time (s), n=2997§ | 147 (144 to 151) | 88 (87 to 91) | 113 (111 to 115) | 108 (106 to 110) | 133 (130 to 136) | 116 (115 to 118) | 1** 4* |
| Mean (95% CI) dispensing counselling time (s), n=2997)¶ | 29 (27 to 32) | 23 (21 to 25) | 22 (21 to 23) | 23 (22 to 24) | 27 (25 to 29) | 25 (24 to 26) | 4* |
| Drugs fully dispensed, N (%)†† | 1859 (78%) | 2006 (91%) | 2163 (97%) | 3952 (88%) | 2076 (88%) | 6028 (88%) | 1** 3** |
| Drugs partially dispensed, N (%) | 278 (12%) | 96 (4%) | 46 (2%) | 255 (6%) | 165 (7%) | 420 (6%) | 1** 2** 3** |
| Drugs out of stock, N (%) | 235 (10%) | 112 (5%) | 32 (1%) | 260 (6%) | 119 (5%) | 379 (6%) | 1** 2** 3** |
| Total | 2372 (100%) | 2214 (100%) | 2241 (100%) | 4467 (100%) | 2360 (100%) | 6827 (100%) | |