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Modifying a Paediatric Rational Prescribing Tool (POPI) for Use in the UK
Fenella Corrick1, Imti Choonara2, Sharon Conroy3
1Division of Medical Sciences & Graduate Entry Medicine, University of Nottingham, Royal Derby Hospital Centre, Uttoxeter Road, Derby, DE22 3DT, UK. fenella.corrick@nottingham.ac.uk.
Insights
A new tool, the modified POPI (UK), evaluates rational prescribing in UK pediatric care. It adapts a French tool with 80 criteria, making it the first of its kind for evaluating pediatric prescribing quality in UK hospitals and clinics.
Area of Science:
- Pharmacology
- Pediatric Medicine
- Health Services Research
Background:
- Rational prescribing tools are crucial for evaluating and improving medication use in healthcare.
- Existing tools for assessing pediatric rational prescribing are limited, with only one identified previously.
- The Pediatrics: Omission of Prescriptions and Inappropriate Prescriptions (POPI) tool exists but requires adaptation for international use.
Purpose of the Study:
- To adapt the French POPI tool for evaluating rational prescribing in United Kingdom (UK) pediatric practice.
- To ensure the modified tool aligns with current UK clinical guidelines and terminology.
- To establish the first dedicated rational prescribing evaluation tool for UK pediatric settings.
Main Methods:
- A literature search identified the existing POPI tool and relevant UK clinical guidelines (NICE, SIGN, BNFC).
- POPI criteria were systematically compared against UK guidelines.
- Criteria were modified, consolidated, or omitted based on concordance with UK guidance, resulting in a reduced criterion set.
Main Results:
- The modified POPI (UK) tool contains 80 criteria, a reduction from the original 105.
- 49 criteria remained unchanged, 29 were modified to align with UK guidelines.
- 23 criteria were omitted due to lack of UK guidance or conflicting practice, including the 'mosquitos' category.
Conclusions:
- The modified POPI (UK) tool is the first rational prescribing evaluation tool specifically designed for UK pediatric settings.
- This tool facilitates the assessment of prescribing quality in both hospital and outpatient pediatric care in the UK.
- The adaptation process ensures clinical relevance and adherence to UK-specific healthcare standards.
Abstract:
Rational prescribing tools can be used by individual prescribers, organisations, and researchers to evaluate the quality of prescribing for research and quality improvement purposes. A literature search showed that there is only one tool for evaluating rational prescribing for paediatric patients in hospital and outpatient settings. The Pediatrics: Omission of Prescriptions and Inappropriate Prescriptions (POPI) tool was developed in France and comprises 105 criteria. The aim of this study was to modify this tool to facilitate its use in paediatric practice in the United Kingdom (UK). POPI criteria were compared to relevant UK clinical guidelines from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, the Scottish Intercollegiate Guideline Network and the British National Formulary for Children. Where guidelines differed, criteria were modified to reflect UK guidance. If there were no relevant guidelines or directly contradictory guidelines, criteria were removed. Overall, no change was made to 49 criteria. There were 29 modified to concord with UK guidelines. Four criteria were reduced to two criteria due to being linked in single guidelines. Twenty-three criteria were omitted, due to the absence of relevant UK guidance or directly conflicting UK practice, including one entire clinical category (mosquitos). One category title was amended to parallel UK terminology. The modified POPI (UK) tool comprises of eighty criteria and is the first rational prescribing tool for the evaluation of prescribing for children in hospital and outpatient settings in the UK.
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