Primary care physicians report high trust in and usefulness of the Stockholm drug and therapeutic committee’s list of recommended essential medicines (the ‘Wise List’)
Open Access
- 23 October 2017
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Springer Science and Business Media LLC in European Journal of Clinical Pharmacology
- Vol. 74 (1), 131-138
- https://doi.org/10.1007/s00228-017-2354-8
Abstract
Purpose Inappropriate use of medicines causes increased morbidity, mortality, adverse drug reactions, therapeutic failures and drug resistance as well as wastes valuable resources. Evidence-based cost-effective treatment recommendations of essential medicines are a way of avoiding these. We assessed primary care prescribers’ knowledge about and perceptions of an essential medicines formulary, as well as the reasons for adhering to the recommendations. Methods We conducted a web based questionnaire survey targeting all physicians working in the primary healthcare of the Stockholm healthcare region (2.3 million inhabitants), regarding the knowledge of, attitudes to and usefulness of the essential medicines formulary of the Stockholm Drug and Therapeutics Committee, the so-called Wise List. Results Of the 1862 physicians reached by our e-mail invitations, 526 (28%) participated in the survey. All but one respondent knew of the formulary, and 72% used it at least once a week when prescribing. The main reason for using the formulary was evidence-based prescribing; 97% trusted the guidelines, and almost all (98%) found the content easy to understand. At the same time, many prescribers thought that the annual changes of some recommendations were too frequent, and some felt that a national formulary would increase its trustworthiness. Conclusions We found that the essential medicines formulary was widely used and trusted by the prescribers. The high uptake of the treatment recommendations could be due to the Stockholm Drug and Therapeutics Committee’s transparent process for developing recommendations involving respected experts and clinicians using strict criteria for handling potential conflicts of interest, feedback to prescribers, continuous medical education and minor financial incentives.Keywords
Funding Information
- Karolinska Institute
This publication has 38 references indexed in Scilit:
- Adverse Drug Reactions in a Population of Hospitalized Very Elderly PatientsDrugs & Aging, 2012
- GPs' opinions of public and industrial information regarding drugs: a cross-sectional studyBMC Health Services Research, 2011
- The ‘Wise List’– A Comprehensive Concept to Select, Communicate and Achieve Adherence to Recommendations of Essential Drugs in Ambulatory Care in StockholmBasic & Clinical Pharmacology & Toxicology, 2011
- Initiatives to enhance the quality and efficiency of statin and PPI prescribing in the UK: impact and implicationsExpert Review of Pharmacoeconomics & Outcomes Research, 2010
- A Decade of Controversy: Balancing Policy With Evidence in the Regulation of Prescription Drug AdvertisingAmerican Journal of Public Health, 2010
- Family Physician attitudes about prescribing using a drug formularyBMC Family Practice, 2009
- Multifaceted national and regional drug reforms and initiatives in ambulatory care in Sweden: global relevanceExpert Review of Pharmacoeconomics & Outcomes Research, 2009
- The role of etiquette and experimentation in explaining how doctors change behaviour: a qualitative studySociology of Health & Illness, 2006
- Factors affecting feasibility and acceptability of a practice-based educational intervention to support evidence-based prescribing: a qualitative studyFamily Practice, 2004
- Physicians Report On Patient Encounters Involving Direct-To-Consumer AdvertisingHealth Affairs, 2004