OBJECTIVES To establish the relation between new prescriptions for proton pump inhibitors and recorded upper gastrointestinal morbidity within a large computerised general practitioner database. DESIGN Retrospective survey of morbidity and prescribing data linked to new prescriptions for proton pump inhibitors and comparison with licensed indications between 1991 and 1995. SETTING General P...

OBJECTIVE To examine the association between trends in antidepressant prescribing and suicide rates in Australia for 1991-2000. DESIGN Analysis of databases of suicide and rates of antidepressant prescribing according to age and sex. SETTING Australian Bureau of Statistics data, sales data from the Australian pharmaceutical industry, prescribing data in general practice. SUBJECTS Men and ...

INTRODUCTION The extent of preventable medication-related hospital admissions and medication-related issues in primary care is significant enough to justify developing decision support systems for medication safety surveillance. The prerequisite for such systems is defining a relevant set of medication safety-related indicators and understanding the influence of both patient and general practic...

BACKGROUND Community pharmacists, pharmaceutical industry and differences in prescribing between GPs. OBJECTIVE To explore the role of the pharmacists and pharmaceutical industry representatives. METHODS A cross-sectional survey was undertaken of 1434 GPs in The Netherlands in 2001. Prescribing indicators based on general practice guidelines were used to assess the quality of prescribing. T...

Background: Smoking and other forms of tobacco use remain the most significant worldwide public health problem. The dental practice is being identified as potential location for smoking cessation activity. Nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) promotes the chances of tobacco cessation, however, evidence related to prescription of the NRT in dental settings is lacking. This study aimed to assess an...

ABSTRACT We conducted an analysis to determine the factors that influence physicians’ decisions to adopt a new drug by examining their demographics, practices, and prescribing characteristics. In addition to the level of marketing support expended by a company for its newly launched drugs, several physician-specific variables (e.g., age, specialization, and prescribing practice) are critical in...

Positive change in prescribing practice in psychiatric services can be achieved with participation in the UK Prescribing Observatory for Mental Health (POMH-UK) quality improvement programmes. Key elements are feedback of benchmarked performance for local clinical reflection and customised change interventions informed by the national audit findings and parallel qualitative work. However, progr...

BACKGROUND Antidepressant prescribing continues to rise. Increased long-term prescribing and higher doses are contributing to current growth; however, patient factors associated with the use of higher doses remain unknown. This study's aim was to investigate patient factors associated with selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitor (SSRI) prescribed daily dose for depression treatment in general p...

BACKGROUND Wide variations in anxiolytic and hypnotic prescribing by GPs in England have been described, but are largely unexplained. AIM To examine the relationships between the volume of anxiolytics and hypnotics prescribed by GPs and their practice characteristics, population demography, and performance indicators. DESIGN OF STUDY Cross-sectional study. SETTING All general practices in...