A drug utilization review identified significant inappropriate use of second-generation cephalosporins at a 700-bed community teaching hospital. As a result, an educational program designed to modify physician prescribing patterns was developed as a cost-containment measure. Educational guidelines listing indications and contraindications for cefamandole and cefoxitin and comparing their costs with those of first-generation cephalosporins were placed in patient records, and physician use of these agents was reviewed before, during, and after the intervention. The rate of combined appropriate use of cefamandole and cefoxitin increased from 30 to 58% during the study. A change from the second-generation cephalosporins to therapeutically equivalent, less-expensive drugs was noted in 28% of patients' medical records within 48 hours after placement of the guidelines. This educational program proved to be a low-cost method of successfully altering the prescribing patterns of physicians.
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BMJ Open
January 2025
Centre for Behavioural and Implementation Science Interventions, National University of Singapore Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, Singapore.
Introduction: Inhalers are critical in asthma treatment, and inappropriate inhaler use leads to poor asthma outcomes. In adults and adolescents, dry powder inhalers (DPIs) are safe and effective alternatives to mainstay pressurised metered dose inhalers and could bridge the asthma care gap while also reducing the environmental burden of asthma care. Despite being licensed for use in ages 5 years old and older, the evidence for clinical effectiveness is less clear for patients between ages 5 and 12 years.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBMJ Open
January 2025
General Practice and Primary Health Care, The University of Auckland Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, Auckland, New Zealand
Objectives: To identify what changes in the prescribing of isotretinoin have occurred since funded prescriber access was widened in 2009 from 'dermatologist only' prescribing to include 'general practitioners (GPs) and nurse practitioners working within their scope of practice'.
Design: Evaluation of isotretinoin dispensing data from 2008 to 2023 using the national annual prescribing data obtained from the New Zealand Pharmaceutical National Collection database.
Setting: All New Zealand citizens prescribed and dispensed funded isotretinoin for acne from 2008 to 2023 were included.
J Subst Use Addict Treat
January 2025
Department of Public Health and Community Medicine, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA 02111, United States of America.
Introduction: The location of buprenorphine treatment providers in the United States is pivotal to the understanding of regional factors associated with prescription and uptake. We evaluated how distinct data sources of treatment providers and their associated locations contribute to the differences observed when measuring buprenorphine accessibility.
Methods: We compared buprenorphine treatment provider data from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and data from the behavioral health treatment locator from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) for July 2022.
Clin Exp Optom
January 2025
College of Optometry, University of Houston, Houston, TX USA.
Clinical Relevance: Hyperopia is a common refractive error in young children and has the potential to affect their visual, educational and general development. Management of childhood hyperopia presents significant intra-and inter-professional differences partly because evidence-based guidelines to inform when and how to prescribe for hyperopia are insufficient.
Purpose: This study investigated the prescribing philosophy in childhood hyperopia among optometrists in Ghana and the challenges faced in managing childhood hyperopia.
Langmuir
January 2025
School of Chemical Engineering, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia.
Ofloxacin, a commonly prescribed antibiotic, raises serious environmental concerns due to its persistence in aquatic systems. This study offers new insights into the environmental behavior of ofloxacin and its interactions with carbon-based adsorbents with the aim of enhancing our understanding of its removal mechanisms via adsorption processes. Using a comprehensive computational approach, we analyzed the speciation, pK values, and solubility of ofloxacin across various pH conditions, accounting for all four microspecies, including the often-overlooked neutral form.
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