Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 2, 2026
06:40
The Dyspepsia Educational Tool As a Novel Aid in Dyspepsia Management
Published on: June 29, 2019
Effectiveness of interactive dashboards to optimize prescribing in general practice: a systematic review
Caroline McCarthy1, Patrick Moynagh1, Áine Mannion1
1Department of General Practice, RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences, Dublin 2, Ireland.
Family Practice
|June 4, 2025
Summary
Interactive dashboards show promise for improving medication safety in general practice. While some studies show positive effects on prescribing, particularly for potentially inappropriate prescribing, overall evidence remains inconclusive.
Area of Science:
- Health Services Research
- Clinical Pharmacy
- Health Informatics
Background:
- The World Health Organisation's Medication Without Harm campaign targets a 50% reduction in medication-related harm.
- This review focuses on interactive dashboards providing visual, longitudinal prescribing feedback in general practice.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore characteristics of interactive dashboard interventions in general practice.
- To assess the effect of these dashboards on prescribing-related outcomes.
Main Methods:
- Systematic review adhering to PRISMA guidelines, with searches in November 2023.
- Included 10 RCTs, 1 CBA, and 3 ITS studies; data extraction and risk of bias assessment by two independent researchers.
- Narrative description of interventions and random-effects meta-analysis for comparable studies.
Main Results:
- Seven of the included studies reported significant positive effects on prescribing outcomes.
- Interventions targeting potentially inappropriate prescribing (PIP) showed positive effects in 4 out of 6 studies.
- Meta-analysis of 3 RCTs (160 practices, 198,135 patients) showed an overall odds ratio of 0.92 (95% CI: 0.78-1.06) for PIP.
Conclusions:
- Interactive dashboards show potential for enhancing safe prescribing in general practice.
- Current evidence is inconclusive, necessitating further research.
- Future research should focus on core outcome sets, implementation optimization, and sustained user engagement.
Related Concept Videos
01:26Methods of Documentation IV: Focus Charting
Focus Charting, also known as the focus charting system or "focus documentation," is a systematic documentation approach used in healthcare to organize patient information in medical records.
It typically involves three columns for recording information:
It typically involves three columns for recording information:
01:21Methods of Documentation III: PIE
Problem-intervention-evaluation (PIE) is a systematic approach to documentation used in healthcare settings for clinical decision-making and patient care planning. It is a structured approach to organizing patient data based on problems, interventions, and evaluations. Here's a breakdown of its key features and considerations:
01:24Pharmacokinetic–Pharmacodynamic Relationship: Problems
The empirical approach to drug therapy optimization relies on correlating pharmacological response with administered dosage. Such an approach can be costly, time-consuming, and often yields poor correlation due to variables like formulation factors and drug elimination characteristics. A more precise approach correlates response with plasma drug concentration or the amount of drug in the body, rather than dosage. This is achieved through pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic (PK/PD) modeling, which...
01:29Therapeutic Drug Monitoring: Affecting Factors
Therapeutic Drug Monitoring (TDM) is the clinical practice of measuring specific drug levels in a patient's blood or body tissues to manage and optimize therapy. TDM is crucial for drugs with narrow therapeutic windows, like warfarin and phenytoin, where incorrect doses can lead to treatment failure or severe side effects. This monitoring ensures the dosage administered is within a safe and effective range. The factors affecting therapeutic drug monitoring include:Patient-Specific Factors:a.
01:20Measurement of Bioavailability: Pharmacodynamic Methods
Pharmacodynamic methods provide insights into a drug's effects on physiological processes over time and play a crucial role in understanding bioavailability and therapeutic efficacy. These methods can be broadly classified into acute pharmacological and therapeutic response approaches, each with distinct mechanisms and applications.The acute pharmacological response method directly correlates a drug's physiological effects, such as ECG or pupil diameter changes, to its time course in the body.
01:24Dosage Regimen: Individualization
Individualization in dosing regimens is the customization of medication doses for individual patients. Its necessity arises from the goal of maximizing therapeutic benefits while minimizing risks. This approach is pivotal because human responses to drugs can vary widely; what is effective for one person may be inadequate or excessive for another. Interpatient (intersubject) variability refers to differences in drug responses between individuals, while intrapatient (intrasubject) variability...