Publications by authors named "David A Newby"
The role of evidence in consumer choice of non-prescription medicines.
Int J Pharm Pract
December 2019
Objectives: To identify factors influencing Australian consumer decision-making and attitudes towards non-prescription medicine (NPM) purchases, pharmacy's role in providing these medications and views around sources of evidence for effectiveness of these products.
Methods: Cross-sectional survey of a general population sample of 1731 adults using an Australian online consumer panel stratified by gender, age and location (State/Territory). Beliefs about NPM purchases and evidence of their efficacy were assessed using a 5-point Likert scale (strongly disagree-strongly agree).
Objectives: To examine the effectiveness of different strategies for recruiting participants for a large Australian randomised controlled trial (RCT), the Australian Study for the Prevention through Immunisation of Cardiovascular Events (AUSPICE).
Design, Setting, Participants: Men and women aged 55-60 years with at least two cardiovascular risk factors (hypertension, hypercholesterolaemia, overweight/obesity) were recruited for a multicentre placebo-controlled RCT assessing the effectiveness of 23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (23vPPV) for preventing cardiovascular events.
Methods: Invitations were mailed by the Australian Department of Human Services to people in the Medicare database aged 55-60 years; reminders were sent 2 weeks later.
Article Synopsis
- Junior doctors often feel unprepared for prescribing medication, expressing a desire for more training during their studies.
- A pharmacist-led program for final-year medical students involved hands-on practice with prescriptions, tutorials, and pharmacy experience, followed by assessments of student confidence and skills.
- Results showed students' confidence in prescribing increased significantly, with no harmful prescriptions issued post-program, highlighting the program's effectiveness in preparing students for collaborative healthcare roles.
Objective: To evaluate the feasibility of providing diabetes risk assessment at community pharmacy level in Australia and Thailand from organizational aspects.
Methods: The intervention study was conducted in eight community pharmacies in New South Wales, Australia, and six community pharmacies in Central Thailand. Diabetes risk assessment tools were applied to determine the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
Background: Increasing demand for services and rising health care costs create pressures within the Australian health care system and result in higher health insurance premiums and out-of-pocket costs for consumers.
Objective: To measure changes in consumer views on the quality of the Australian health care system, contributors to rising costs and attitudes towards managing these costs.
Methods: Two computer-assisted telephone interviews were conducted in 2006 (533 respondents) and 2015 (1318 respondents) and results compared.
Low awareness of adverse drug reaction reporting systems: a consumer survey.
Med J Aust
November 2013
Objective: To determine levels of public awareness of consumer adverse drug reaction (ADR) reporting systems in Australia.
Design, Setting And Participants: Cross-sectional study conducted in 2012 of residents of the Hunter Valley region of New South Wales, who participated in a computer-assisted telephone interview (CATI), and a national sample, who completed an online Pureprofile survey.
Main Outcome Measures: Proportion of respondents experiencing ADRs; the type of medicine involved; whether participants reported the adverse event and to whom; awareness and use of existing consumer ADR reporting mechanisms.
Background: Previous analyses of the listings of trastuzumab on the Australian Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) and HPV vaccine on the National Immunisation Program (NIP) suggest a media influence on policy makers. We examined the timing and content of Australian newspaper reports of medicines in relation to Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee (PBAC) decisions.
Methods: We identified newspaper reports (2005-2008) of medicines recommended for PBS listing in 2006-2007, analysing the content for mentions of the medicine, PBS and medicine costs to the patient and the government and counting the numbers of articles published in the six months before, the month of, and the six months after the relevant PBAC meeting.
Background: Investments in eHealth worldwide have been mirrored in Australia, with >90% of general practices computerized. Recent eHealth incentives promote the use of up to date electronic information sources relevant to general practice with flexibility in mode of access.
Objective: To determine GPs' access to and use of electronic information sources and computerized clinical decision support systems (CDSSs) for prescribing.
Objectives: To assess the impact of two interventions on computer-generated prescriptions for antibiotics--(i) an educational intervention to reduce automatic computerised ordering of repeat antibiotic prescriptions, and (ii) a legislative change prohibiting the "no brand substitution" box being checked as a default setting in prescribing software--and to compare these findings with those of a similar survey we conducted in 2000.
Design And Setting: Prospective audit of consecutive prescriptions for four antibiotics (amoxycillin, amoxycillin/clavulanate, roxithromycin, and cefaclor) commonly prescribed for upper respiratory tract infections in community pharmacies in New South Wales and Queensland between 1 November 2008 and 31 January 2009.
Primary Outcome: rate of repeat prescription ordering on computer-generated versus handwritten prescriptions.
Objectives: To determine the number of patients in our teaching hospitals who were, on any given day, both available and willing to see medical students.
Design And Setting: Repeated cross-sectional audit in four teaching hospitals in the greater Newcastle area of New South Wales (one tertiary referral hospital, two district general hospitals, and one hospital combining general medicine and surgery with specialised oncology services). Audits were conducted three times, 2 months apart.
Objectives: To characterise research relationships between medical specialists and the pharmaceutical industry in Australia.
Design And Setting: Questionnaire survey of medical specialists listed in the Medical Directory of Australia and believed to be in active practice, conducted in 2002 and 2003.
Main Outcome Measures: Details of medical specialists' involvement in pharmaceutical industry-sponsored research, and reports of potentially undesirable research outcomes.
Objectives: To examine whether the use of current prescribing software systems might raise rates of repeat prescribing, with a consequent increase in use of antibiotics in the community.
Design And Setting: A prospective audit of consecutive prescriptions for amoxycillin, cefaclor, roxithromycin and amoxycillin/clavulanate presented to community pharmacies in the Hunter region of New South Wales and a follow-up survey of people who received a repeat prescription, October to November 2000.
Main Outcome Measures: The frequency of repeat prescription ordering on computer-generated and handwritten prescriptions; the proportion of people who filled their repeat prescription.