Asthma prescription patterns for XXXX : can GPs do better?

@entity1 @entity565 @entity288
BACKGROUND: Assessing prescription patterns of @entity565 medication for @entity1 is helpful to optimize prescribing by general practitioners (GPs). The aim was to explore prescription patterns in @entity1 with physician-diagnosed @entity565 and its determinants in general practice. METHODS: We used the Second Dutch National Survey of General Practice (DNSGP-2) with @entity1 aged 0-17 years registered in 87 general practices. All @entity1 with at least one @entity565 prescription were included (n = 2993). Prescription rates and prescription of continuous (>= 3 prescriptions/year) versus intermittent @entity565 medication were calculated. Data, including several GP characteristics, were analysed using multivariate logistic regression accounting for clustering within practices. RESULTS: During one year, 16% of the @entity1 with physician-diagnosed @entity565 (n = 3562) received no @entity565 medication. Of the 2993 @entity1 with @entity565 receiving @entity565 medication (on average 2.9 prescriptions/year), 61% received one or two prescriptions, 39% received three or more. Continuous medication with a bronchodilator and/or a corticosteroid was prescribed in 22% of these @entity1 . One out of 5 @entity1 receiving continuous medication was prescribed a bronchodilator only. In 7.5% of the prescriptions, @entity565 medications other than bronchodilators or @entity288 were prescribed. Prescribing @entity565 medication varied widely between practices, but none of the @entity1 and GP determinants had an independent effect on prescribing continuous versus intermittent medication. CONCLUSION: In general practice, the annual number of @entity565 prescriptions per @entity1 with @entity565 is relatively low. One in 20 @entity1 is prescribed bronchodilators only continuously, indicating room for improvement. @entity1 and GP characteristics cannot be used for targeting educational efforts.
