Dataset Information

Determinants of antibiotic dispensing without a medical prescription: a cross-sectional study in the north of Spain.

ABSTRACT:

Objectives

Antibiotic resistance is a major public health concern and is greatly exacerbated by inappropriate antibiotic use at a community level. The aim of this study was to ascertain which attitudes of community pharmacists were related to inappropriate antibiotic dispensing.

Methods

We conducted a cross-sectional study of community pharmacists in a region situated in northern Spain (n?=?393). Personal interviews were conducted using a self-administered questionnaire. The degree of agreement with each item of knowledge and attitude was measured using an unnumbered, horizontal visual analogue scale, with replies being scored from 0 (total disagreement) to 10 (total agreement). The data were analysed using logistic regression.

Results

Of the total of 286 pharmacists (72.8%) who completed the questionnaire, 185 (64.7%) acknowledged having undertaken dispensing of antibiotics without a medical prescription (DAwMP). Attitudes such as patient complacency, external responsibility, indifference and insufficient knowledge were shown to be related to DAwMP. In contrast, no association was found with any of the pharmacists' personal or professional traits.

Conclusions

This study confirms that, albeit unlawful, DAwMP is a common practice in Spanish pharmacies. DAwMP was seen to be usually associated with some of the attitudes evaluated.

SUBMITTER: Zapata-Cachafeiro M

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4195471 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Determinants of antibiotic dispensing without a medical prescription: a cross-sectional study in the north of Spain.

Zapata-Cachafeiro Maruxa M González-González Cristian C Váquez-Lago Juan M JM López-Vázquez Paula P López-Durán Ana A Smyth Ernesto E Figueiras Adolfo A

The Journal of antimicrobial chemotherapy 20140624 11

<h4>Objectives</h4>Antibiotic resistance is a major public health concern and is greatly exacerbated by inappropriate antibiotic use at a community level. The aim of this study was to ascertain which attitudes of community pharmacists were related to inappropriate antibiotic dispensing.<h4>Methods</h4>We conducted a cross-sectional study of community pharmacists in a region situated in northern Spain (n = 393). Personal interviews were conducted using a self-administered questionnaire. The degre ...[more]

PMID: 24966275

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Project description:BackgroundThe European cross-border electronic prescription (CBeP) and cross-border electronic dispensing system was first implemented in January 2019 when it became possible to purchase medications from community pharmacies in Estonia using a Finnish ePrescription. In 2020, Estonian ePrescriptions became available to be dispensed in Finnish pharmacies. The CBeP is an important milestone in increasing access to medicines across the European Union, and it has been unstudied to date.ObjectiveThis study aimed to investigate Estonian and Finnish pharmacists' experiences of factors influencing access to, and dispensing of, CBePs.MethodsA web-based survey was conducted among Estonian and Finnish pharmacists between April and May 2021. The survey was distributed to all 664 community pharmacies (n=289, 43.5% in Estonia and n=375, 56.5% in Finland) where CBePs had been dispensed in 2020. The data were analyzed using frequencies and a chi-square test. Answers to open-ended questions were categorized using content analysis and then analyzed by frequency.ResultsIn total, 66.7% (84/126) of the responses from Estonia and 76.6% (154/201) of the responses from Finland were included in the study. The majority of Estonian (74/84, 88%) and Finnish (126/154, 81.8%) respondents agreed that CBePs have improved patients' access to medications. Problems with the availability of medications when dispensing CBePs were reported by 76% (64/84) of the Estonian respondents and 35.1% (54/154) of the Finnish respondents. In Estonia, the most commonly reported availability problem concerned the same active ingredient (49/84, 58%) of the medication not being available in the market, whereas in Finland, the most common issue was the unavailability of equivalent package size in the market (30/154, 19.5%). Encountering ambiguities or errors in the CBePs was reported by 61% (51/84) of the Estonian respondents and 42.8% (66/154) of the Finnish respondents. Mostly, the availability issues and ambiguities or errors were encountered rarely. The most commonly encountered ambiguities or errors were incorrect pharmaceutical form (23/84, 27%) in Estonia and incorrect total amount of medication (21/154, 13.6%) in Finland. Technical problems with using the CBeP system were reported by 57% (48/84) of the Estonian respondents and 40.2% (62/154) of the Finnish respondents. Most of the Estonian and Finnish respondents (53/84, 63%, and 133/154, 86.4%, respectively) had access to guidelines for dispensing CBePs. More than half of the Estonian (52/84, 62%) and Finnish (95/154, 61.7%) respondents felt that they had received sufficient training on dispensing CBePs.ConclusionsPharmacists in both Estonia and Finland agreed that CBePs improve access to medications. However, interfering factors, such as ambiguities or errors in CBePs and technical problems in the CBeP system, can reduce access to medications. The respondents had received sufficient training and were informed of the guidelines; however, they felt that the content of the guidelines could be improved.

Project description:BACKGROUND:One of several strategies developed to reduce inappropriate antibiotic use in situations where the indication is not clear is delayed antibiotic prescription (DAP), defined as an antibiotic prescription issued for the patient to take only in case of feeling worse or not feeling better several days after the visit. We conducted a survey to identify DAP use in Spanish primary care settings. METHODS:We surveyed 23 healthcare centers located in 4 autonomous regions where a randomized controlled trial (RCT) on DAP was underway. The primary variable was use of DAP. Categorical and quantitative variables were analyzed by means of the chi-squared test and non-parametric tests, respectively. RESULTS:The survey was sent to 375 healthcare professionals, 215 of whom responded (57.3% response rate), with 46% of these respondents declaring that they had used DAP in routine practice before the RCT started (66.6% afterwards), mostly (91.5%) for respiratory tract infections (RTIs), followed by urinary infections (45.1%). Regarding DAP use for RTIs, the most frequent conditions were pharyngotonsillitis (88.7%), acute bronchitis (62.7%), mild chronic obstructive pulmonary disease exacerbations (59.9%), sinusitis (51.4%), and acute otitis media (45.1%). Most respondents considered that DAP reduced emergency visits (85.4%), scheduled visits (79%) and inappropriate antibiotic use (73.7%) and most also perceived patients to be generally satisfied with the DAP approach (75.6%). Having participated or not in the DAP RCT (74.1% versus 46.2%; p < 0.001), having previously used or not used DAP (86.8% versus 44.2%; p < 0.001), and being a physician versus being a nurse (81.8% versus 18.2%; p < 0.001) were factors that reflected significantly higher rates of DAP use. CONCLUSIONS:The majority of primary healthcare professionals in Spain do not use DAP. Those who use DAP believe that it reduces primary care visits and inappropriate antibiotic use, while maintaining patient satisfaction. Given the limited use of DAP in our setting, and given that its use is mainly limited to RTIs, DAP has considerable potential in terms of its implementation in routine practice.

Dataset Information

Determinants of antibiotic dispensing without a medical prescription: a cross-sectional study in the north of Spain.

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Publications

Determinants of antibiotic dispensing without a medical prescription: a cross-sectional study in the north of Spain.

Similar Datasets

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