Description of the complexity of prescribed medication regimens in primary health care of Ribeirão Preto - SP
Introduction: Pharmacotherapy is the main therapeutic resource for the management of diseases. However, the number of drugs prescribed, dose frequency, and mode of administration can make the treatment more complex and influence treatment outcomes. The aim of this study was to measure the complexity...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Hospital de Clinicas de Porto Alegre ; Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS)
2018-04-01
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| Series: | Clinical and Biomedical Research |
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| Online Access: | http://seer.ufrgs.br/hcpa/article/view/76622 |
| _version_ | 1818277523734134784 |
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| author | Maria Olívia Barboza Zanetti Jaqueline Lessa de Moraes Juliana Maldonado Marchetti Regina Célia Garcia de Andrade |
| author_facet | Maria Olívia Barboza Zanetti Jaqueline Lessa de Moraes Juliana Maldonado Marchetti Regina Célia Garcia de Andrade |
| author_sort | Maria Olívia Barboza Zanetti |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Introduction: Pharmacotherapy is the main therapeutic resource for the management of diseases. However, the number of drugs prescribed, dose frequency, and mode of administration can make the treatment more complex and influence treatment outcomes. The aim of this study was to measure the complexity of prescribed medication regimens in primary health care (PHC) services in Ribeirão Preto, Brazil.
Methods: This cross-sectional study included 1,009 participants: 889 from primary health units and 120 from family health units in Ribeirão Preto, Brazil. Treatment complexity was assessed using the Medication Regimen Complexity Index (MRCI).
Results: MRCI mean scores were 12.5 points (SD = 9.3) and dose frequency was the major contributor to increase the score. The complexity of pharmacotherapy showed a significant correlation with the number of prescribed medications (r = 0.93, p < 0.01), but not with patients' age (r = 0.28, p < 0.01). There is also no difference in complexity between the sexes (p = 0.83) and the types of primary health care service (p = 0.31). An analysis of variance revealed that patients with lower levels of education receive more complex prescriptions (p < 0.01).
Conclusions: The pharmacotherapy prescribed in PHC services from Ribeirão Preto, Brazil is complex, and there is a need to concentrate efforts and adopt strategies to simplify drug prescription without compromising patient's clinical status.
Keywords: Primary health care; drug prescriptions; drug therapy; medication regimen complexity |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-12T23:02:54Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-9537118539a04320b77f14f88be60697 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 0101-5575 2357-9730 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-12T23:02:54Z |
| publishDate | 2018-04-01 |
| publisher | Hospital de Clinicas de Porto Alegre ; Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Clinical and Biomedical Research |
| spelling | doaj.art-9537118539a04320b77f14f88be606972022-12-22T00:08:46ZengHospital de Clinicas de Porto Alegre ; Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS)Clinical and Biomedical Research0101-55752357-97302018-04-0138136692Description of the complexity of prescribed medication regimens in primary health care of Ribeirão Preto - SPMaria Olívia Barboza Zanetti0Jaqueline Lessa de Moraes1Juliana Maldonado Marchetti2Regina Célia Garcia de Andrade3Departamento de Ciências Farmacêuticas, Faculdade de Ciências Farmacêuticas de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brasil.Departamento de Enfermagem Fundamental, Escola de Enfermagem de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brasil.Departamento de Ciências Farmacêuticas, Faculdade de Ciências Farmacêuticas de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brasil.Departamento de Ciências Farmacêuticas, Faculdade de Ciências Farmacêuticas de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brasil.Introduction: Pharmacotherapy is the main therapeutic resource for the management of diseases. However, the number of drugs prescribed, dose frequency, and mode of administration can make the treatment more complex and influence treatment outcomes. The aim of this study was to measure the complexity of prescribed medication regimens in primary health care (PHC) services in Ribeirão Preto, Brazil. Methods: This cross-sectional study included 1,009 participants: 889 from primary health units and 120 from family health units in Ribeirão Preto, Brazil. Treatment complexity was assessed using the Medication Regimen Complexity Index (MRCI). Results: MRCI mean scores were 12.5 points (SD = 9.3) and dose frequency was the major contributor to increase the score. The complexity of pharmacotherapy showed a significant correlation with the number of prescribed medications (r = 0.93, p < 0.01), but not with patients' age (r = 0.28, p < 0.01). There is also no difference in complexity between the sexes (p = 0.83) and the types of primary health care service (p = 0.31). An analysis of variance revealed that patients with lower levels of education receive more complex prescriptions (p < 0.01). Conclusions: The pharmacotherapy prescribed in PHC services from Ribeirão Preto, Brazil is complex, and there is a need to concentrate efforts and adopt strategies to simplify drug prescription without compromising patient's clinical status. Keywords: Primary health care; drug prescriptions; drug therapy; medication regimen complexityhttp://seer.ufrgs.br/hcpa/article/view/76622Primary health caredrug prescriptionsdrug therapymedication regimen complexity |
| spellingShingle | Maria Olívia Barboza Zanetti Jaqueline Lessa de Moraes Juliana Maldonado Marchetti Regina Célia Garcia de Andrade Description of the complexity of prescribed medication regimens in primary health care of Ribeirão Preto - SP Clinical and Biomedical Research Primary health care drug prescriptions drug therapy medication regimen complexity |
| title | Description of the complexity of prescribed medication regimens in primary health care of Ribeirão Preto - SP |
| title_full | Description of the complexity of prescribed medication regimens in primary health care of Ribeirão Preto - SP |
| title_fullStr | Description of the complexity of prescribed medication regimens in primary health care of Ribeirão Preto - SP |
| title_full_unstemmed | Description of the complexity of prescribed medication regimens in primary health care of Ribeirão Preto - SP |
| title_short | Description of the complexity of prescribed medication regimens in primary health care of Ribeirão Preto - SP |
| title_sort | description of the complexity of prescribed medication regimens in primary health care of ribeirao preto sp |
| topic | Primary health care drug prescriptions drug therapy medication regimen complexity |
| url | http://seer.ufrgs.br/hcpa/article/view/76622 |
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