Measuring change in prescription drug utilization in Australia.

Purpose: The National Prescribing Service Ltd (NPS) aims to improve prescribing and use of medicines consistent with evidence-based best practice. This report compares two statistical methods used to determine whether multiple educational interventions influenced antibiotic prescription in Australia.

Methods: Monthly data (July 1996 to June 2003) were obtained from a national claims database.

Measurement of changes in antihypertensive drug utilisation following primary care educational interventions.

Purpose: To measure changes in drug utilisation following a national general practice education program aimed at improving prescribing for hypertension.

Methods: A series of nationally implemented, multifaceted educational interventions using social marketing principles focusing on prescribing for hypertension, was commenced in October 1999, and repeated in September 2001 and August 2003. The target group was all primary care prescribers in Australia and interventions were both active (voluntary) and passive.

Lessons from early large-scale adoption of celecoxib and rofecoxib by Australian general practitioners.

Objective: To assess trends in the first two years of prescribing of COX-2-selective non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (C2SNs) by Australian general practitioners.

Design: Retrospective analysis of deidentified electronic patient records from GPs enrolled in the General Practice Research Network (GPRN).

Setting And Participants: Overall prescription rates for C2SNs and NSAIDs were assessed for all GPRN participants (437 GPs) between 1 September 1999 and 30 September 2002.