Background: Identifying the appropriate long-term anti-thrombotic therapy following acute ischaemic stroke is a challenging area in which computer-based decision support may provide assistance. Aim: To evaluate the influence on prescribing practice of a computer-based decision support system (CDSS) that provided patient-specific estimates of the expected ischaemic and haemorrhagic vascular even...

BACKGROUND The Stemming the Tide of Antibiotic Resistance (STAR) Educational Program aims to enhance the quality of antibiotic prescribing and raise awareness about antibiotic resistance among general medical practitioners. It consists of a seven part, theory-based blended learning program that includes online reflection on clinicians' own practice, presentation of research evidence and guideli...

Nearly all general practice physicians (GPs) in the United Kingdom (UK) have electronic health record (EHR) systems in their practices compared with perhaps 15% of primary care physicians in the United States (U.S.). Based on interviews of 13 general GPs and review of current literature, the authors argue that the historical experience of widespread electronic health record uptake in the UK pro...

In the first part of this article, drug utilization and prescribing practice is discussed as seen from a Norwegian general practice perspective. Which are the data sources available? What kind of studies have been performed? Prescription-diagnosis studies are reviewed, in particular the Møre & Romsdal Prescription Study (MRPS). Because the wholesales drug statistics do not include information a...

BACKGROUND Identifying the appropriate long-term anti-thrombotic therapy following acute ischaemic stroke is a challenging area in which computer-based decision support may provide assistance. AIM To evaluate the influence on prescribing practice of a computer-based decision support system (CDSS) that provided patient-specific estimates of the expected ischaemic and haemorrhagic vascular even...

OBJECTIVES To investigate the impact of an educational intervention on doctors' knowledge and perceptions towards generic medicines and their generic (international non-proprietary name) prescribing practice. METHODS This is a single-cohort pre-/post-intervention pilot study. The study was conducted in a tertiary care hospital in Perak, Malaysia. All doctors from the internal medicine departm...

BACKGROUND Statin prescribing to prevent coronary heart disease is well below recommended levels. Studies suggest that the prescribing behaviour of doctors may be the biggest factor in the wide variation in statin prescribing in general practice. Understanding doctors' perceptions offers some insight into why variation occurs. AIM To understand general practitioners' (GPs') views about barrie...

BACKGROUND Medication error is an important contributor to patient morbidity and mortality and is associated with inadequate patient safety measures. However, prescribing-safety tools specifically designed for use in general practice are lacking. AIM To identify and update a set of prescribing-safety indicators for assessing the safety of prescribing in general practice, and to estimate the r...

BACKGROUND There is a growing body of literature highlighting inequities in GP practice prescribing rates for a number of drug therapies. The small amount of research on statin prescribing has either focussed on variations rather than equity per se, been based on populations other than GP practices or has used cost-based prescribing rates. AIM To explore the equity of GP practice prescribing ...