Ken Harvey wrote:
[I'd be interested in whether people thought an computer alert
(generated at the time of prescribing one of these drugs in an elderly
patient) might be a useful way of addressing the problem?]
Only if the prescriber acted on it - I think the question should rather
be if the people who prescribed these items actually thought/knew they
were "possibly inappropriate"
T
Roughead EE, Anderson B, Gilbert AL. Potentially inappropriate
prescribing among Australian veterans and war widows/widowers.
Internal Medicine Journal 2007; 37 (6): 402–405.
ABSTRACT: This study examined the extent of potentially inappropriate
medicine, as defined by explicit criteria, dispensed to Australian
veterans using the Repatriation Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme
Pharmacy Claims database.
Twenty-one per cent of the 192 363 veterans aged 70 years, with an
eligible gold card, were dispensed at least one potentially
inappropriate medicine in the first 6 months of 2005.
Long-acting benzodiazepines, amitriptyline, amiodarone, oxybutynin and
doxepin were the medicines most commonly implicated. Strategies to
support quality prescribing of medicines to the elderly must include a
focus on these medicines.
Cheers
Ken
_______________________________________________
Gpcg_talk mailing list
[email protected]
http://ozdocit.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/gpcg_talk
