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Related Experiment Videos

Developing prevalence-based prescribing units for analysing variations in general practitioner prescribing: a case

P R Ward1, P R Noyce, A S St Leger

  • 1School of Social Sciences and Law, Sheffield Hallam University, Sheffield, UK. p.r.ward@shu.ac.uk

Journal of Clinical Pharmacy and Therapeutics
|February 28, 2003
PubMed
Summary

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New prescribing units (PASS-PUs) were developed to better reflect coronary heart disease prevalence. Statin prescribing correlated with costs but not expected prevalence, highlighting potential underprescribing in older populations.

Area of Science:

  • Health Services Research
  • Pharmacoeconomics
  • Epidemiology

Background:

  • General practitioner (GP) prescribing patterns require standardized metrics for accurate comparison and analysis.
  • Existing prescribing units may not adequately account for population demographics and disease prevalence, potentially skewing comparisons.
  • Accurate measurement is crucial for evaluating healthcare targets, such as those for coronary heart disease (CHD).

Purpose of the Study:

  • To develop and validate regionally specific, prevalence-, age-, and sex-standardized prescribing units (PASS-PUs).
  • To compare these novel PASS-PUs with existing specific therapeutic group age-sex-related prescribing units (STAR-PUs).
  • To assess the relationship between these prescribing units and statin prescribing patterns in primary care.

Main Methods:

Related Experiment Videos

  • A cross-sectional study was conducted across 94 GP practices in North West England.
  • Prevalence-, age-, and sex-standardized prescribing units (PASS-PUs) were calculated for each practice.
  • Comparisons were made between STAR-PUs and PASS-PUs using statin prescribing data (net ingredient cost and average daily quantities per patient).

Main Results:

  • A high correlation was observed between STAR-PUs and PASS-PUs (Spearman's rank coefficient 0.88, P < 0.001).
  • Statin prescribing cost per patient correlated significantly with STAR-PUs per patient (Spearman's rank coefficient 0.36, P < 0.01).
  • Practices with higher proportions of patients over 75 years showed lower statin prescribing relative to expected CHD prevalence, indicating potential underprescribing.

Conclusions:

  • STAR-PUs, with lower weightings for older patients, underestimate prescribing units compared to PASS-PUs.
  • Current statin prescribing aligns with national cost patterns (STAR-PUs) but not necessarily with treated CHD prevalence (PASS-PUs).
  • PASS-PUs are valuable for monitoring and predicting GP prescribing related to CHD targets and can be adapted for other therapeutic areas.