Trends, geographical variation and factors associated with melatonin prescribing in general practices in England: a practice‐level analysis

Author(s):  
Mandy Wan ◽  
Rukeya Begum ◽  
Asia N. Rashed
2014 ◽  
Vol 28 (4) ◽  
pp. 191-197 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mahmoud Torabi ◽  
Christopher Green ◽  
Zoann Nugent ◽  
Salaheddin M Mahmud ◽  
Alain A Demers ◽  
...  

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the geographical variation and small geographical area level factors associated with colorectal cancer (CRC) mortality.METHODS: Information regarding CRC mortality was obtained from the population-based Manitoba Cancer Registry, population counts were obtained from Manitoba’s universal health care plan Registry and characteristics of the area of residence were obtained from the 2001 Canadian census. Bayesian spatial Poisson mixed models were used to evaluate the geographical variation of CRC mortality and Poisson regression models for determining associations with CRC mortality. Time trends of CRC mortality according to income group were plotted using joinpoint regression.RESULTS: The southeast (mortality rate ratio [MRR] 1.31 [95% CI 1.12 to 1.54) and southcentral (MRR 1.62 [95% CI 1.35 to 1.92]) regions of Manitoba had higher CRC mortality rates than suburban Winnipeg (Manitoba’s capital city). Between 1985 and 1996, CRC mortality did not vary according to household income; however, between 1997 and 2009, individuals residing in the highest-income areas were less likely to die from CRC (MRR 0.77 [95% CI 0.65 to 0.89]). Divergence in CRC mortality among individuals residing in different income areas increased over time, with rising CRC mortality observed in the lowest income areas and declining CRC mortality observed in the higher income areas.CONCLUSIONS: Individuals residing in lower income neighbourhoods experienced rising CRC mortality despite residing in a jurisdiction with universal health care and should receive increased efforts to reduce CRC mortality. These findings should be of particular interest to the provincial CRC screening programs, which may be able to reduce the disparities in CRC mortality by reducing the disparities in CRC screening participation.


Author(s):  
Mary E Walsh ◽  
Mari Nerdrum ◽  
Tom Fahey ◽  
Frank Moriarty

Abstract Background Adults at high risk of fragility fracture should be offered pharmacological treatment when not contraindicated, however, under-treatment is common. Objective This study aimed to investigate factors associated with bone-health medication initiation in older patients attending primary care. Design This was a retrospective cohort study. Setting The study used data from forty-four general practices in Ireland from 2011–2017. Subjects The study included adults aged ≥ 65 years who were naïve to bone-health medication for 12 months. Methods Overall fracture-risk (based on QFracture) and individual fracture-risk factors were described for patients initiated and not initiated onto medication and compared using generalised linear model regression with the Poisson distribution. Results Of 36,799 patients (51% female, mean age 75.4 (SD = 8.4)) included, 8% (n = 2,992) were observed to initiate bone-health medication during the study. One-fifth of all patients (n = 8,193) had osteoporosis or had high fracture-risk but only 21% of them (n = 1,687) initiated on medication. Female sex, older age, state-funded health cover and osteoporosis were associated with initiation. Independently of osteoporosis and co-variates, high 5-year QFracture risk for hip (IRR = 1.33 (95% CI = 1.17–1.50), P < 0.01) and all fractures (IRR = 1.30 (95% CI = 1.17–1.44), P < 0.01) were associated with medication initiation. Previous fracture, rheumatoid arthritis and corticosteroid use were associated with initiation, while liver, kidney, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and oestrogen-only hormone replacement therapy showed an inverse association. Conclusions Bone-health medication initiation is targeted at patients at higher fracture-risk but much potential under-treatment remains, particularly in those >80 years and with co-morbidities. This may reflect clinical uncertainty in older multimorbid patients, and further research should explore decision-making in preventive bone medication prescribing.


2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
A. H. Heald ◽  
M. Stedman ◽  
S. Farman ◽  
C. Khine ◽  
M. Davies ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Antipsychotic medications are the first-line pharmacological intervention for severe mental illnesses (SMI) such as schizophrenia and other psychoses, while also being used to relieve distress and treat neuropsychiatric symptoms in dementia. Our aim was to examine the factors relating to antipsychotic prescribing in general practices across England and how cost changes in recent years have impacted on antipsychotic prescribing. Methods The study examined over time the prescribing volume and prices paid for antipsychotic medication by agent in primary care. Monthly prescribing in primary care was consolidated over 5 years (2013–2018) and DDD amount from WHO/ATC for each agent was used to convert the amount to total DDD/practice. The defined Daily Dose (DDD is the assumed average maintenance dose per day for a drug used for its main indication in adults. Results We included 5750 general practices with practice population > 3000 and with > 30 people on their SMI register. In 2018/19 there were 10,360,865 prescriptions containing 136 million DDD with costs of £110 million at an average cost of £0.81/DDD issued in primary care. In 2017/18 there was a sharp increase in overall prices and they had not reduced to expected levels by the end of the 2018/19 evaluation year. There was a gradual increase in antipsychotic prescribing over 2013–2019 which was not perturbed by the increase in drug price in 2017/18. The strongest positive relation to increased prescribing of antipsychotics came from higher social disadvantage, higher population density (urban), and comorbidities e.g. chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Higher % younger and % older populations, northerliness and non-white (Black and Minority Ethnic(BAME)) ethnicity were all independently associated with less antipsychotic prescribing. Higher DDD/general practice population was linked with higher proportion(%) injectable, higher %liquid, higher doses/prescription and higher %zuclopenthixol depot. Less DDD/population was linked with general practices using higher % risperidone and higher spending/dose of antipsychotic. Conclusions The levels of antipsychotic prescribing at general practice level are driven by social factors/comorbidities. We found a link between depot prescriptions with higher antipsychotic DDD and risperidone prescriptions with lower antipsychotic DDD. It is important that all prescribers are aware of these drivers / links.


2019 ◽  
Vol 44 (6) ◽  
pp. 1214-1223 ◽  
Author(s):  
Macy Vickers ◽  
Chelsea L. Green ◽  
Hee Yun Lee ◽  
Jennifer Y. Pierce ◽  
Casey L. Daniel

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacqueline R. Halladay ◽  
Bryan J. Weiner ◽  
Jung In Kim ◽  
Darren A. DeWalt ◽  
Stephanie Pierson ◽  
...  

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. e24-e24 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amelia Harshfield ◽  
Gary A Abel ◽  
Stephen Barclay ◽  
Rupert A Payne

ObjectiveTo examine the concordance between dates of death recorded in UK primary care and national mortality records.MethodsUK primary care data from the Clinical Practice Research Datalink were linked to Office for National Statistics (ONS) data, for 118 571 patients who died between September 2010 and September 2015. Logistic regression was used to examine factors associated with discrepancy in death dates between data sets.ResultsDeath dates matched in 76.8% of cases with primary care dates preceding ONS date in 2.9%, and following in 20.3% of cases; 92.2% of cases differed by <2 weeks. Primary care date was >4 weeks later than ONS in 1.5% of cases and occurred more frequently with deaths categorised as ‘external’ (15.8% vs 0.8% for cancer), and in younger patients (15.9% vs 1% for 18–29 and 80–89 years, respectively). General practices with the greatest discrepancies (97.5th percentile) had around 200 times higher odds of recording substantially discordant dates than practices with the lowest discrepancies (2.5th percentile).ConclusionDates of death in primary care records often disagree with national records and should be treated with caution. There is marked variation between practices, and studies involving young patients, unexplained deaths and where precise date of death is important are particularly vulnerable to these issues.


BMJ Open ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (11) ◽  
pp. e018261 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Stevens ◽  
Clare Bankhead ◽  
Toqir Mukhtar ◽  
Rafael Perera-Salazar ◽  
Tim A Holt ◽  
...  

ObjectivesConsultation duration has previously been shown to be associated with patient, practitioner and practice characteristics. However, previous studies were conducted outside the UK, considered only small numbers of general practitioner (GP) consultations or focused primarily on practitioner-level characteristics. We aimed to determine the patient-level and practice-level factors associated with duration of GP and nurse consultations in UK primary care.Design and settingCross-sectional data were obtained from English general practices contributing to the Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD) linked to data on patient deprivation and practice staffing, rurality and Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF) achievement.Participants218 304 patients, from 316 English general practices, consulting from 1 April 2013 to 31 March 2014.AnalysisMultilevel mixed-effects models described the association between consultation duration and patient-level and practice-level factors (patient age, gender, smoking status, ethnic group, deprivation and practice rurality, number of full-time equivalent GPs/nurses, list size, consultation rate, quintile of overall QOF achievement and training status).ResultsMean duration of face-to-face GP consultations was 9.24 min and 5.32 min for telephone consultations. Nurse face-to-face and telephone consultations lasted 9.70 and 5.73 min on average, respectively. Longer GP consultation duration was associated with female patient gender, practice training status and older patient age. Shorter duration was associated with higher deprivation and consultation rate. Longer nurse consultation duration was associated with male patient gender, older patient age and ever smoking; and shorter duration with higher consultation rate. Observed differences in duration were small (eg, GP consultations with female patients compared with male patients were 8 s longer on average).ConclusionsSmall observed differences in consultation duration indicate that patients are treated similarly regardless of background. Increased consultation duration may be beneficial for older or comorbid patients, but the benefits and costs of increased consultation duration require further study.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document