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Yes / Medication errors involving insulin in hospital are common, and may be particularly problematic at the point of transfer of care. Our aim was to improve the safety of insulin prescribing on discharge from hospital using a continuous improvement methodology involving cycles of iterative change. A multidisciplinary project team formulated locally tailored insulin discharge prescribing guidance. After baseline data collection, three ‘plan-do-study-act’ cycles were undertaken over a 3-week period (September/ October 2018) to introduce the guidelines and improve the quality of discharge prescriptions from one diabetes ward at the hospital. Discharge prescriptions involving insulin from the ward during Monday to Friday of each week were examined, and their adherence to the guidance measured. After the introduction of the guidelines in the form of a poster, and later a checklist, the adherence to guidelines rose from an average of 50% to 99%. Qualitative data suggested that although it took pharmacists slightly longer to clinically verify discharge prescriptions, the interventions resulted in a clear and helpful reminder to help improve discharge quality for the benefit of patient safety. This project highlights that small iterative changes made by a multidisciplinary project team can result in improvement of insulin discharge prescription quality. The sustainability and scale of the intervention may be improved by its integration into the electronic prescribing system so that all users may access and refer to the guidance when prescribing insulin for patients at the point of discharge.

Yes / Objective: To investigate timely access to palliative medicines/drugs (PMs) from community pharmacies to inform palliative care service delivery. Design: Mixed methods in two sequential phases: (1) prospective audit of prescriptions and concurrent survey of patients/representatives collecting PMs from pharmacy and (2) interviews with community pharmacists (CPs) and other healthcare professionals (HCPs). Setting: Five community pharmacies in Sheffield, UK and HCPs that deliver palliative care in that community. Participants: Phase 1: five CPs: two providing access to PMs within a locally commissioned service (LCS) and three not in the LCS; 55 patients/representatives who completed the survey when accessing PMs and phase 2: 16 HCPs, including five phase 1 CPs, were interviewed. Results: The prescription audit collected information on 75 prescriptions (75 patients) with 271 individual PMs; 55 patients/representatives (73%) completed the survey. Patients/representatives reported 73% of PMs were needed urgently. In 80% of cases, patients/representatives received all PMs on the first pharmacy visit. One in five had to travel to more than one pharmacy to access PMs. The range of PMs stocked by pharmacies was the key facilitating factor. CPs reported practical issues causing difficulty keeping PMs in stock and playing a reactive role with palliative prescriptions. Confidentiality concerns were cited by other HCPs who were reluctant to share key patient information proactively with pharmacy teams. Inadequate information transfer, lack of CP integration into the care of palliative patients and poor HCP knowledge of which pharmacies stock PMs meant patients and their families were not always able to access PMs promptly. Conclusions: Consistent routine information transfer and integration of pharmacy teams in the care of palliative patients are needed to achieve timely access to PMs. Commissioners of PM access schemes should review and monitor access. HCPs need to be routinely made aware and reminded about the service and its locations. / EJM received research funding from Pharmacy Research UK and Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust as well as support from St Luke’s Hospice, Sheffield. AB and JDM report grants from Pharmacy Research UK during the conduct of the study.

Abstract ECONOMIC IMPACT OF WASTE IN PRESCRIBING, DISPENSING, AND MEDICATION CONSUMPTION IN THE UNITED STATES By Sarah A. Almanie, M.S. A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science at Virginia Commonwealth University. Virginia Commonwealth University, 2015. Major Director: David A. Holdford, R.Ph., M.S., Ph.D., FAPhA Professor Department of Pharmacotherapy and Outcomes Science OBJECTIVES: This research examines waste associated with the medication use process which consists of unfilled prescriptions, abandoned prescriptions, or unused prescription medications. The aim of this study is to quantify the direct medical costs of medication waste in delivery of care in the United States. METHODS: A review of published literature and data from the 2012 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey was used to quantify the number of prescriptions wasted at different stages of the medication prescribing and use process and the associated costs were calculated. RESULTS: In 2012, more than 26 million prescriptions were either unfilled or abandoned, and more than 225 million resulted in dispensed medications that were not used. The total cost of this waste was estimated at $30.4 billion. CONCLUSIONS: Patients who do not fulfill their role in the medication use process cause significant, avoidable costs to the health care system beyond the health outcomes not achieved.

Cette thèse porte sur l’étude du processus de façonnage de l’identité professionnelle (IP) de professeurs des écoles en formation initiale (PEFI). Usité dans des contextes institutionnels, professionnels et scientifiques, le concept d’IP revêt un caractère polysémique lui conférant toute sa complexité mais aussi tout son intérêt. Le discours institutionnel témoigne d’une préoccupation souvent réaffirmée mais, paradoxalement, d’une quasi-absence d’évocation explicite de l’IP. Au plan scientifique, la multiplicité des modèles théoriques qui définissent l’IP est à l’origine d’une ambiguïté sémantique la caractérisant. En s’inscrivant dans les théories culturalistes (Engeström, 1999 ; Leontiev, 1975 ; Vygotski, 1960), les postulats de la clinique de l’activité (Clot, 1999), de la psychodynamique du travail (Dejours, 1993) et de l’ergonomie (Wisner, 1995), cette thèse apporte un regard nouveau sur le concept d’IP, en l’appréhendant comme une activité de renormalisation des prescriptions reconnue par soi et par autrui. Menée avec six PEFI, la démarche clinique a permis la reconstitution de leurs itinéraires individuels ainsi que le repérage des caractéristiques communes au façonnage de leur IP. Les résultats mettent en exergue l’identification de quatre « bascules », correspondant aux passages par lesquels passent tous les PEFI dans le processus identitaire. Ces bascules rendent compte du caractère dynamique et singulier du façonnage de l’IP. Elles ont conduit à la construction de scénarios individuels du façonnage identitaire qui rompent avec les scénarios-types retrouvés dans nombre d’études. Des propositions pour penser la formation initiale en termes d’IP sont esquissées. / This thesis focuses on the study of the shaping process of the professional identity (PI) of preservice teachers (PT). Usual in institutional, professional and scientific contexts, the concept of PI is of a polysemous character, which gives it all its complexity and interest. The institutional discourse reflects an often reaffirmed concern about PI, but paradoxically, a virtual absence of explicit mention of it. From a scientific standpoint, the multiplicity of theoretical models that define the PI is at the origin of the semantic ambiguity characterizing it. By entering the culturalist theories (Engeström, 1999; Leontiev, 1975; Vygotsky, 1960), the postulates of clinical activity (Clot, 1999), of psychodynamics (Dejours, 1993) and of ergonomics (Wisner, 1995), this thesis provides a new perspective on the concept of PI, analyzing it as an activity to renormalize Prescriptions as recognized by oneself and by others. Conducted with six PT, the clinical approach allows the reconstruction of their individual routes and the identification of common characteristics in shaping their PI. Results highlight the identification of four turning points, corresponding to the steps common to all PT in the PI process. These turning points reflect the dynamic and unique shaping of the PI. They lead to the construction of scenarios shaping individual identity that break with the typical scenarios found in many studies. Proposals for rethinking initial training in terms of PI are outlined.

Os medicamentos são um recurso terapêutico que vêm ganhando cada vez mais importância no tratamento dos pacientes, o que tem levado várias instituições nacionais e internacionais a implementarem esforços no sentido de estimularem boas práticas de prescrição. Entretanto, várias influências têm levado médicos ao redor do mundo a adotarem práticas irracionais de prescrição, levando a custos cada vez mais elevados e riscos para a saúde dos doentes. Este estudo teve por objetivos descrever as práticas de prescrição de uma amostra de médicos de Curitiba, Paraná, a partir de respostas dadas a um questionário auto-aplicado, bem como investigar se médicos atuando na Estratégia Saúde da Família (ESF) prescrevem de forma diferente dos que atuam em Unidades Básicas de Saúde (UBS) e em outros serviços e explorar o uso de um questionário auto aplicado para este fim. Trata-se de um estudo transversal com uma amostra de conveniência. Foram entrevistados 17 indivíduos nas unidades da ESF, 22 em UBS, 5 no Hospital Universitário Cajuru e 5 no Centro Clínico Nossa Saúde através de um questionário sobre dados demográficos e com 20 questões em uma escala Likert de 5 pontos que explorava ideias a respeito da prescrição de fármacos. O escore resultante destas questões foi comparado aos dados demográficos e foi constatado que médicos sem especialidade, médicos de família e comunidade, médicos da ESF, que atuam em apenas um local de trabalho, que se encontram nas faixas etárias entre 25 e 34 anos e entre 40 e 59 anos de idade e que se formaram entre os anos de 1985 a 1994 e entre 2005 e 2012 obtiveram escores maiores. Estes resultados permitem levantar a hipótese de que médicos na cidade de Curitiba com este perfil prescrevem de forma mais racional do que seus pares. / Medicines are therapeutic options which are gaining more and more importance in the treatment of patients, leading several national and international institutions to efforts in order to stimulate good prescribing practices. However, many influences have led physicians around the world to adopt irrational prescribing practices, leading to increasingly high costs and risks to patients\' health. This study aimed to describe the prescribing practices of a sample of doctors from Curitiba, Paraná, from responses to a self-administered questionnaire as well as to investigate if doctors working in the Family Health Strategy may prescribe differently of those working in Basic Health Units and in other services and to explore the use of a self-applied questionnaire for this purpose. This is a cross-sectional study with a convenience sample. 17 individuals were interviewed in Family Health Units, 22 in Basic Health Units, 5 in the Cajuru University Hospital and 5 in the Nossa Saúde Clinical Center through a questionnaire on demographic data and 20 questions in a 5-point Likert scale that explored ideas concerning drug prescription. The resulting score from these questions was compared to demographic data and it was found that doctors with no medical specialty, family and community physicians, those working in Family Health Units, those working in just one workplace, who are in the age groups between 25 and 34 years and between 40 and 59 years of age and who graduated between the years 1985 to 1994 and between 2005 and 2012 had higher scores. These results raise the hypothesis that physicians in the city of Curitiba with this profile prescribe more rationally than their peers.

Os medicamentos são um recurso terapêutico que vêm ganhando cada vez mais importância no tratamento dos pacientes, o que tem levado várias instituições nacionais e internacionais a implementarem esforços no sentido de estimularem boas práticas de prescrição. Entretanto, várias influências têm levado médicos ao redor do mundo a adotarem práticas irracionais de prescrição, levando a custos cada vez mais elevados e riscos para a saúde dos doentes. Este estudo teve por objetivos descrever as práticas de prescrição de uma amostra de médicos de Curitiba, Paraná, a partir de respostas dadas a um questionário auto-aplicado, bem como investigar se médicos atuando na Estratégia Saúde da Família (ESF) prescrevem de forma diferente dos que atuam em Unidades Básicas de Saúde (UBS) e em outros serviços e explorar o uso de um questionário auto aplicado para este fim. Trata-se de um estudo transversal com uma amostra de conveniência. Foram entrevistados 17 indivíduos nas unidades da ESF, 22 em UBS, 5 no Hospital Universitário Cajuru e 5 no Centro Clínico Nossa Saúde através de um questionário sobre dados demográficos e com 20 questões em uma escala Likert de 5 pontos que explorava ideias a respeito da prescrição de fármacos. O escore resultante destas questões foi comparado aos dados demográficos e foi constatado que médicos sem especialidade, médicos de família e comunidade, médicos da ESF, que atuam em apenas um local de trabalho, que se encontram nas faixas etárias entre 25 e 34 anos e entre 40 e 59 anos de idade e que se formaram entre os anos de 1985 a 1994 e entre 2005 e 2012 obtiveram escores maiores. Estes resultados permitem levantar a hipótese de que médicos na cidade de Curitiba com este perfil prescrevem de forma mais racional do que seus pares. / Medicines are therapeutic options which are gaining more and more importance in the treatment of patients, leading several national and international institutions to efforts in order to stimulate good prescribing practices. However, many influences have led physicians around the world to adopt irrational prescribing practices, leading to increasingly high costs and risks to patients\' health. This study aimed to describe the prescribing practices of a sample of doctors from Curitiba, Paraná, from responses to a self-administered questionnaire as well as to investigate if doctors working in the Family Health Strategy may prescribe differently of those working in Basic Health Units and in other services and to explore the use of a self-applied questionnaire for this purpose. This is a cross-sectional study with a convenience sample. 17 individuals were interviewed in Family Health Units, 22 in Basic Health Units, 5 in the Cajuru University Hospital and 5 in the Nossa Saúde Clinical Center through a questionnaire on demographic data and 20 questions in a 5-point Likert scale that explored ideas concerning drug prescription. The resulting score from these questions was compared to demographic data and it was found that doctors with no medical specialty, family and community physicians, those working in Family Health Units, those working in just one workplace, who are in the age groups between 25 and 34 years and between 40 and 59 years of age and who graduated between the years 1985 to 1994 and between 2005 and 2012 had higher scores. These results raise the hypothesis that physicians in the city of Curitiba with this profile prescribe more rationally than their peers.

Thesis Univ. College London, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references and indexes.

La prescription médicamenteuse est l’un des principaux outils thérapeutiques utilisé par le médecin. Si la médecine somatique décline sa clinique selon l’enchaînement symptômes- diagnostic-traitement, la psychiatrie se démarque d’une telle linéarité. En effet, bien qu’elle se soit calquée sur le modèle médical depuis la découverte des psychotropes en 1952, elle relève d’une clinique spécifique : en psychiatrie, d’une part le symptôme constitue une adresse à l’Autre, il contient donc une dimension relationnelle essentielle, d’autre part, le soin psychique implique une participation active du sujet, toute thérapie étant aussi auto-thérapie. La neuropharmacologie, en plein essor depuis 1952, propose un schéma thérapeutique se voulant plus scientifique car de plus en plus éloigné de la psychopathologie clinique. Le psychiatre est alors convoqué en tant que technicien de la prescription de psychotropes, le médicament se suffisant à lui-même d’un point de vue thérapeutique. Face à une telle évolution de la psychiatrie, comment préserver un abord clinique ?Notre pratique esquisse la possibilité de dégager l’acte de prescrire d’une technicité exclusive. En effet, sous certaines conditions, la prescription de psychotropes constitue un acte psychothérapeutique à part entière. Pour cheminer dans notre réflexion, nous sommes passés par le paradigme du pharmakon afin de complexifier la question du prescrire. La clinique suggère une possible alliance entre parole et médicament. Prescrire dans la parole, au-delà de la molécule, consiste à qualifier la substance par la parole, de façon à ce qu’elle devienne un médicament spécifique de la rencontre clinique. La molécule, guidée par la magie des mots, sera plus efficace. L’acte de prescrire se conçoit donc comme une création à deux, à réinventer à chaque nouvelle rencontre, le moment de la prescription relevant d’un cheminement intime du côté du clinicien. Ainsi, loin de s’exclure mutuellement, psychothérapie analytique et pharmacothérapie ont tout intérêt à croiser leurs regards sur la question du prescrire. Penser conjointement effet pharmacologique et relation clinique permet au clinicien de s’engager dans une authentique rencontre humaine avec le patient. La psychopathologie s’ouvrira, peut-être, sur de nouvelles perspectives thérapeutiques. / Prescribing medication is one of the main therapeutic tools used by physicians. If somatic medicine clinically acts according to a 'symptom-diagnosis-treatment' model, psychiatry does not follow this linear pathway. Although it has copied the medical model since the discoveryof psychoactive drugs in 1952, it possesses a specific clinical approach. First of all, in psychiatric care, the symptom is an address to the Other, it contains an essential social dimension. Moreover, it implies the subject's active participation, each therapy also being a self-therapy. Neuropharmacology, in full expansion since 1952, has taken a therapeutic scheme aiming at more scientificity by moving away from clinical psychopathology. Hence psychiatrists are seen as technicians of psychoactive drugs prescription, drugs being considered as self sufficient therapeuticaly. With regard to this evolution in psychiatric care, how can a clinical approach be maintained ? In practice, the act of prescribing can free itself from being exclusively technical. Prescribing psychoactive drugs can indeed, under certain conditions, be a true psychotherapeutic act. To guide us through this reflection, we used the pharmakon paradigm to make the issue of prescribing more complex. Clinical practice suggests a possible alliance between patients'words and medication. Beyond molecular action, prescribing through talking qualifies the substance by words, so it becomes a clinical-interaction-specific drug. The molecule, guided by the magic of words, will be more efficient. The act of prescribing is thus conceived as a creation made possible by two people, that must be reinvented at each encounter. The moment for prescribing is rather the fruit of the clinician intimate decision process. Thus, far from excluding each other, analytical therapy and pharmacotherapy would gain much from sharing their views on the issue of prescribing. Integrating both the pharmacological effect and the clinical interaction would allow clinicians to engage in an authentic human encounter with patients. Psychopathology may then open up to new therapeutic perspectives.

published_or_final_version / Chinese Medicine / Master / Master of Philosophy