Article Figures & Data
Figures
- Figure 1.
Outcome space of internal relationship between 5 categories: the GPs’ collective approach to managing responsibility for patient drug lists.
GP = general practitioner.
Note: Category D is the most comprehensive; it comprises a broader understanding because it includes aspects of the other 4 categories (A, B, C, and E), as well as the patient perspective on drug therapy. In contrast, GPs expressed a more restricted understanding in category A, often excluding aspects from above categories.
Tables
Characteristic No. GP=general practitioner. Female 7 Male 13 Age (mean), y 32–64 (51) Years in profession, range (mean) 1–32 (8) Years as GP, range (mean) 0–27 (14) Employment conditions Private practice 8 National Health Service 12 - Table 2.
General Practitioners’ Ways of Understanding Responsibility for Current Patient Drug Lists (N = 20)
GP Identification No. Sex of Interviewee (Years in Profession) Category A Imposed Responsibility Category B Responsible for Own Prescriptions Category C Responsible for All Drugs Category D Different but Shared Responsibility Category E Patient Transferring Drug Information GP=general practitioner. Note: Distribution of each individual physician’s predominant understanding (++) and less-dominant understanding (+) as expressed in the interviews. Categories were labeled after informant’s description of what was in focus regarding responsibility for patient drug list. 2 Male (24) ++ + 15 Male (23) ++ + 10 Male (22) + ++ + 1 Male (21) ++ 5 Female (20) ++ 11 Female (1) ++ + + 3 Male (1) + ++ + 6 Male (trainee) + ++ + + 16 Female (24) ++ + + 13 Male (12) ++ + + 7 Female (14) ++ + 8 Male (1) ++ 14 Male (trainee) ++ + 12 Male (27) ++ + 18 Male (23) ++ + 9 Male (17) + ++ 4 Female (12) + ++ + 17 Female (4) + + ++ 19 Male (1) + + ++ 20 Female (trainee) + + ++
The Article in Brief
Whose Job Is It Anyway? Swedish General Practitioners� Perception of Their Responsibility for the Patient's Drug List
Pia Bastholm Rahmner , and colleagues
Background Information about a patient�s current drug list is one of the keys to safe drug prescribing. The aim of this study is to explore general practitioners� perceptions of who is responsible for the patient�s drug list, so that drugs prescribed by different physicians don�t interact negatively or cause harm.
What This Study Found Interviews with 20 Swedish physicians reveal a variety of opinions about who is responsible for managing a patient�s drug list. The study finds 5 different strategies used by doctors to manage this responsibility: (1) imposed responsibility, (2) responsible for own prescriptions, (3) responsible for all drugs, (4) different but shared responsibility, and (5) patient responsible for transferring drug information.
Implications
- Technical solutions, like electronic health records, alone are unlikely to be sufficient for preventing drug errors.
- Doctors should be made aware of variations in understanding drug list responsibility so that health care quality can be improved.
