RCSI study tackles likelihood of inappropriate prescribing

The likelihood of inappropriate prescribing was reduced in nearly 50% of patients who took part in a study where pharmacists and GPs discussed prescribing practices and GPs followed up with a software review of medication.

Dr Barbara Clyne, a Health Research Board-funded researcher at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI), was lead author on the paper.

She said their findings show that after a relatively short intervention, “namely a half-hour visit from a pharmacist to a GP to go through indicators of prescribing quality in older people, followed by the GP using a special software package to conduct a review of medication, we were able to reduce the likelihood of inappropriate prescribing in nearly 50% of patients in our intervention group”.