Proton pump inhibitors: perspectives of patients and their GPs

There is growing concern with the rapid increase in prescribing proton pump inhibitor drugs (PPIs) for a variety of gastrointestinal disorders, and the escalating costs associated with this trend. Explanations have included that general practitioners (GPs) prescribe PPIs inappropriately and that patients demand PPIs and use them as a way of avoiding having to make lifestyle changes.

To compare the perspectives of GPs and their patients on the need for PPIs, to examine the pressure to prescribe, and to examine the effect of PPIs on lifestyle.

Qualitative comparative study based on semi-structured interviews.

Twenty-six GPs in seven practices in the West Midlands and 82 of their patients on repeat prescriptions for PPIs.

Interviews were conducted covering a wide range of topics, including: experience, cause, course, and outcome of stomach problems; effectiveness of PPIs; and role of lifestyle in controlling symptoms. The transcripts were studied repeatedly to look for the occurrence and distribution of material relating to these issues, as well as other responder-driven issues. Codebooks were devised to enable a simple categorisation and systematic comparison of cases.

GPs and patients agreed about the severity and unpleasantness of stomach symptoms for which PPIs were prescribed. While GPs and patients regarded PPIs as a very effective treatment, GPs rated their efficacy more highly than patients. Half of the GP interviews reproduced the stereotype of the demanding patient and of patients using PPIs to support unhealthy lifestyles. There was little evidence from patient interviews to support either stereotype. Doctors underestimated patient concerns about side-effects, safety, and long-term use of PPIs, and the willingness of patients to achieve the minimum effective dose by experimenting with their treatment. GPs felt that the pressure to prescribe PPIs was outweighed by the pressure not to prescribe, and most GPs had responded to the call to cut the prescribing of PPIs. Different strategies were employed to cut prescribing, including the wholesale switching of patients on a treatment dose of one brand of PPI to a maintenance dose of a cheaper brand of PPI, known as 'double switching'.

The stereotypes of 'profligate prescriber', 'demanding patient', and 'adverse lifestyle', as explanations for the increase in the prescribing of PPIs, were not upheld. The stereotype of patients demanding PPIs may arise from GPs' internal pressure to prescribe being externalised onto patients. The extent to which health behaviour contributes to gastric disorders needs to be established empirically. Labelling PPI patients as having a poor lifestyle may be used as a means of reducing legitimate need for PPIs. Current policy relating to switching of dose and brand of PPI should be reviewed.