TY - JOUR

T1 - Primary care physicians' adoption of new drugs is not associated with their clinical interests

T2 - A pharmacoepidemiologic study

AU - Dybdahl, Torben

AU - Søndergaard, Jens

AU - Kragstrup, Jakob

AU - Kristiansen, Ivar Sønbø

AU - Andersen, Morten

N1 - Funding Information: The authors are grateful to the GPs who filled in the questionnaire.They are also grateful to Lise Stark for proofreading the manuscript and to Brian Berntsen for data entry. This study was supported by the Danish Research Foundation for General Practice and by the Quality Development Board for General Practice in the County of Funen. Funding Information: Declaration of interest: JS has participated in a study funded by a research grant from AstraZeneca and received a fee from consulting for Nycomed. MA has received fees for teaching from the Danish Association of the Pharmaceutical Industry, and has participated in research projects funded by AstraZeneca,Nycomed, and Novartis.

PY - 2011/6

Y1 - 2011/6

N2 - Objectives. Increasing drug expenditures call for better understanding of the reasons behind individual general practitioners' (GPs') prescribing decisions. The aim was to analyse associations between GPs' clinical interests and their preference for new drugs. Design. Historical cohort study using population-based prescription data and data collected by postal questionnaire. Setting and subjects. A total of 68 single-handed GPs in the County of Funen, Denmark. Main outcome measures. GPs' preferences for two new (2004) drug groups (selective cyclo-oxygenase-2 inhibitors and angiotensin-II antagonists) were analysed. The preference was defined as the percentage of patients receiving a new drug among first-time users of either the new drug or an older alternative. The GPs' preference proportion was modelled using linear regression analysis. Data from a questionnaire on GPs' interest in corresponding clinical areas (musculoskeletal diseases and hypertension, respectively), continuing medical education (CME) activities, and previous employment were the independent variables. Results. The adjusted mean difference in preference for new drugs between GPs with high and low interest in each of the two clinical areas was 0.4% (95% CI-2.0% to 2.8%), and-2.2% (-15.0% to 10.7%), respectively. Only current CME activities in the area of hypertension were significantly associated with GPs' preference for new drugs (adjusted mean difference 17.9% (95% CI 5.8% to 30.0%). Conclusion. No clear association between GPs' self-rated clinical interest and their prescribing of new drugs was found.

AB - Objectives. Increasing drug expenditures call for better understanding of the reasons behind individual general practitioners' (GPs') prescribing decisions. The aim was to analyse associations between GPs' clinical interests and their preference for new drugs. Design. Historical cohort study using population-based prescription data and data collected by postal questionnaire. Setting and subjects. A total of 68 single-handed GPs in the County of Funen, Denmark. Main outcome measures. GPs' preferences for two new (2004) drug groups (selective cyclo-oxygenase-2 inhibitors and angiotensin-II antagonists) were analysed. The preference was defined as the percentage of patients receiving a new drug among first-time users of either the new drug or an older alternative. The GPs' preference proportion was modelled using linear regression analysis. Data from a questionnaire on GPs' interest in corresponding clinical areas (musculoskeletal diseases and hypertension, respectively), continuing medical education (CME) activities, and previous employment were the independent variables. Results. The adjusted mean difference in preference for new drugs between GPs with high and low interest in each of the two clinical areas was 0.4% (95% CI-2.0% to 2.8%), and-2.2% (-15.0% to 10.7%), respectively. Only current CME activities in the area of hypertension were significantly associated with GPs' preference for new drugs (adjusted mean difference 17.9% (95% CI 5.8% to 30.0%). Conclusion. No clear association between GPs' self-rated clinical interest and their prescribing of new drugs was found.

KW - Drug utilization

KW - general practice

KW - pharmacoepidemiology

KW - questionnaires

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=79956223456&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.3109/02813432.2011.570024

DO - 10.3109/02813432.2011.570024

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 21510719

AN - SCOPUS:79956223456

VL - 29

SP - 117

EP - 121

JO - Scandinavian Journal of Primary Health Care

JF - Scandinavian Journal of Primary Health Care

SN - 0281-3432

IS - 2

ER -