Medication Utilization at a Provincial Remand Centre.

Area of Science:

• Pharmacology
• Public Health
• Criminology

Background:

• Medication utilization studies identify population health needs and promote rational drug use.
• Data on medication use within correctional facilities are scarce, limiting understanding of health requirements in these settings.

Purpose of the Study:

• To characterize the types and quantities of medications dispensed at a provincial remand center.
• To categorize medications by drug schedule and therapeutic class.

Main Methods:

• A retrospective review of medication data from the Edmonton Remand Centre spanning one year (September 2022 to August 2023).
• Descriptive analysis of medication orders, with comparisons by sex and age using t-tests and by medication type using chi-squared tests.

Main Results:

• Over 71% of 8,772 admitted individuals had medication orders, including over-the-counter (86.5%), prescription (88.8%), and narcotic (39.9%) medications.
• Younger patients (≤40 years) were more likely to receive narcotic medications.
• Top therapeutic classes included mental health, substance use disorder, pain, constipation, and infectious diseases.

Conclusions:

• A significant majority of individuals in this correctional facility received medications.
• Understanding medication utilization patterns specific to correctional settings is crucial for optimizing patient care and resource allocation.