Dear E-druggers,
The April 19, 1997 issue of Lancet carries the following news
about drug prescribing patterns in Canada. Thought this maybe of
interest to E-Drug prescribers.
It would be interesting to hear Dr. Joel Lexchin's expert
commentary on the study when possible. Thanks.
Syed Rizwanuddin Ahmad
----
Study reveals extent of Canada's overprescribing
Inappropriate drug prescribing is causing unnecessary hospital
admissions and visits to doctors offices, according to a study
of Canadian prescription patterns published last week.
The study, funded by the Pharmaceutical Manufacturers'
Association of Canada and done by a behavioral epidemiologist,
Robert Coambs (University of Toronto Centre for Health Promotion)
projects that 1-3% of all hospital admissions, and 1-4% of all
visits to doctors' offices, are the result of inappropriate
prescribing.
Coambs estimated that inappropriate drug prescribing was costing
Canadian taxpayers at least Can$2.5 billion per year to cover
costs associated with unnecessary illness, disability, and death.
Although critics have charged that drug industry promotions have
been a primary cause of inappropriate drug prescribing, Coambs
concluded there is little evidence to support that proposition
because some of the most flagrant problems involve the use of
generic drugs.
Although drug promotion may be a factor, the study concludes that
several other factors are also at play, including: patient
demand; lack of treatment guidelines for doctors; lack of
awareness within the medical profession about prescription
guidelines; and overly aggressive or overly conservative
prescribing by doctors.
The study, which was based on a review of national and
international studies, estimates that as many as half of the 26
million antibiotic prescriptions dispensed in Canada annually are
unnecessary. Among the most flagrant abuses is the inappropriate
prescribing of benzodiazepines to elderly patients.
Wayne Kondro
Lancet 19 June 1997
--- Note from the E-drug moderator
Mentioning interesting abstracts re essential drug issues might
be very interesting for our subscribers, especially in developing
countries. Would some E-druggers who read interesting journals,
be prepared to submit such abstracts on a regular basis? Or list
the interesting references on a monthly basis? If we took each
one journal, and divided the burden among ourselves, we could
become a literature review group specifically for essential drug
issues. Maybe we could then ask INRUD to add the references to
their Rational Use Database?
Your suggestions welcome at: 73377.3055@compuserve.com
Wilbert Bannenberg
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