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Assessing prescribing of NSAIDs, antiplatelets, and anticoagulants in Canadian family medicine using chart review

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Abstract

Background Drug-related problems have been identified as a major contributor to emergency room visits, hospitalizations, and death. The most commonly implicated medications are nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), antiplatelets, and anticoagulants. Considering a significant proportion of these harms are preventable, indicators to identify risky prescribing before they lead to harm have been developed. Objective To examine the prevalence and patterns of potentially inappropriate prescriptions (PIPs) in a primary care population who are using high-risk medications. Setting This study was performed within two multi-disciplinary family medicine teaching clinics in Winnipeg, Canada. Method A cross-sectional electronic/paper chart audit was conducted within two multi-disciplinary family medicine teaching clinics to evaluate the prevalence of 13 evidence-based high-risk prescriptions. Patients were included if they were prescribed an oral NSAID, antiplatelet, or an anticoagulant within the 12 month period between June 2012 and June 2013. Main outcome measure The proportion of PIPs associated with an increased bleeding risk for NSAIDs, antiplatelets, and anticoagulants. Results Of the 567 patients included in the review, 198 (35 %) patients had received at least 1 PIP in the past year. The most common PIP was the use of an oral NSAID with one or more GI risk factors without adequate gastro-protection. Only 34 (6 %) of these patients received a full medication review performed by a pharmacist. Although not statistically significant, patients who received a medication review had fewer inappropriate prescriptions (27 % with review, 35 % without). Conclusion Over one-third of the patients who were using high-risk medications were using them potentially inappropriately. Although pharmacists have been shown to reduce the amount of inappropriate prescribing, very few patients using these medications were referred to the pharmacist for a full medication review. These data suggest that there is opportunity for the identification and assessment of these patients when prescribing or dispensing these high-risk medications.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority who granted access to the required electronic medical records through Manitoba eHealth, Family Medical Centre and Kildonan Medical Centre, the University of Manitoba, College of Pharmacy for their support, and the University of Manitoba Biostatistical Consulting Unit. Finally, we would like to acknowledge Dr. Sheryl Zelenitsky for her help in the development of this manuscript.

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University of Manitoba.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Pharmacy, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Manitoba, 750 McDermot Avenue, Winnipeg, MB, R3E 0T5, Canada

    Kevin Hamilton, Christine Davis, Jamie Falk & Shawn Bugden

  2. College of Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Manitoba, 727 McDermot Avenue, Winnipeg, MB, R3E 3P5, Canada

    Alex Singer

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  1. Kevin Hamilton
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  2. Christine Davis
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  3. Jamie Falk
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Correspondence to Kevin Hamilton.

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Hamilton, K., Davis, C., Falk, J. et al. Assessing prescribing of NSAIDs, antiplatelets, and anticoagulants in Canadian family medicine using chart review. Int J Clin Pharm 38, 1094–1102 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11096-016-0335-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11096-016-0335-0

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