BACKGROUND With the increasing incidence rate of chronic kidney disease (CKD), inappropriate use of medicine in CKD patients is an important issue, as it may cause adverse effects in patients and progression to chronic renal failure. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study is to assess the frequency of inappropriate medicine use among CKD patients. METHODS A cross-sectional study was conducted from...

BACKGROUND Appropriate prescription of dabigatran etexilate methanesulfonate (JAN) is more complicated than assumed, because there are totally 10 items of contraindications and instructions for dosage reduction depending on patients' characteristics. We aimed to study whether the routine audit of first-time prescriptions of dabigatran performed by pharmacists is effective in improving the quali...

BACKGROUND The negative consequences of narcotic use and diversion for nonmedical use are on the rise. A growing number of narcotic abusers obtain narcotic prescriptions from multiple providers ("doctor shopping"). This study sought to determine the effects of multiple postoperative narcotic providers on the number of narcotic prescriptions, duration of narcotics, and morphine equivalent dose p...

Objectives Prescribing of treatments with dosages involving split tablets is common. Many patients report they have difficulties in dividing the tablets and in following the prescribed treatment. The objective of this study was to examine to what extent dosages involving split tablets are prescribed in Sweden. Methods The dosage text strings were analysed on prescriptions dispensed during one m...

BACKGROUND Electronic prescribing (e-prescribing) can potentially help prevent medication errors. As the use of e-prescribing increases across Canada, understanding the benefits and gaps of early e-prescribing can help inform deployment of future e-prescribing systems. OBJECTIVE The purpose of this exploratory study was to determine the prevalence of, reasons for, and average time taken for p...

CONTEXT This study is part of the Methods of Assessing Response to Quality Improvement Strategies (MARQuIS) research project on cross-border care, investigating quality improvement strategies in healthcare systems across the European Union (EU). AIM To explore to what extent a sample of acute care European hospitals have implemented patient safety strategies and mechanisms and whether the imp...

Self-determination theory was applied to explore the motivational basis of adherence to long-term medication prescriptions. Adult outpatients with various diagnoses who had been on a medication for at least 1 month and expected to continue (a) completed questionnaires that assessed their autonomous regulation, other motivation variables, and perceptions of their physicians' support of their aut...

QUESTION With the influenza season reaching a peak, I see numerous children in my clinic with fever and influenza-like illnesses. Parents are concerned and at times ask for antibiotic treatment in hopes that the treatment will shorten the duration of illness. What strategies can I use in order to minimize inappropriate prescription of antibiotics during the influenza season? ANSWER Use of ant...

BACKGROUND In 2012, a new pharmaceutical policy was introduced in Korea. According to the new policy, off-patent brand-name drugs (original drugs) and generic drugs must be priced the same. METHODS This study aims to investigate the perception and attitude of Korean physicians towards generic drugs before and after the policy reform. Surveys were conducted with registered doctors at the Healt...

In this paper, we discuss modeling issues of the Parkinson's tremor. Through the work we have employed physiological structure as well as functioning of the parts in brain that are involved in the disease. To obtain more practical similarity, random behaviors of the connection paths are also considered. Medication or treatment of the disease both by drug prescription and electrical signal stimu...