Fredrik Ax1, Anders Ekedahl. 1. Apoteket Västerås Hospital EA, Västerås Central Hospital, SE-721 89 Västerås, Sweden.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Electronically transmitted prescriptions (ETPs) became common after 1995 in Sweden; however, it is accompanied by a substantial increase in the number of prescriptions not picked up at pharmacies. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the "no pick-up" rates of ETPs at pharmacies across type of drug and patient age and gender and the reasons patients' report for no pick-up. METHODS: A cross-sectional study examining no pick-up of ETPs transmitted during 3 months in 2002, and a mail survey of patients to determine the reasons for failure to pick-up in the county of Sörmland, Sweden, with a population of 261,000, and 21 pharmacies. Chi-square tests were used for calculations of frequency differences among groups. RESULTS: The overall no pick-up rate of ETPs was 2.5%; men had consistently higher rates than women. The highest rates were seen for adolescents and young adults. Rates were higher than average for antibiotics. About 60% of the answers indicated that prescriptions not picked up were duplicate prescriptions or not needed. "Unintentional nonadherence" was reported by one-fifth of patients. CONCLUSIONS: No pick-up rate in general was low (2.5%), but there were differences across patient age and gender, the rates being higher among adolescents and young adults. Duplicate prescriptions may explain a significant share of the abandoned prescriptions. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
BACKGROUND: Electronically transmitted prescriptions (ETPs) became common after 1995 in Sweden; however, it is accompanied by a substantial increase in the number of prescriptions not picked up at pharmacies. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the "no pick-up" rates of ETPs at pharmacies across type of drug and patient age and gender and the reasons patients' report for no pick-up. METHODS: A cross-sectional study examining no pick-up of ETPs transmitted during 3 months in 2002, and a mail survey of patients to determine the reasons for failure to pick-up in the county of Sörmland, Sweden, with a population of 261,000, and 21 pharmacies. Chi-square tests were used for calculations of frequency differences among groups. RESULTS: The overall no pick-up rate of ETPs was 2.5%; men had consistently higher rates than women. The highest rates were seen for adolescents and young adults. Rates were higher than average for antibiotics. About 60% of the answers indicated that prescriptions not picked up were duplicate prescriptions or not needed. "Unintentional nonadherence" was reported by one-fifth of patients. CONCLUSIONS: No pick-up rate in general was low (2.5%), but there were differences across patient age and gender, the rates being higher among adolescents and young adults. Duplicate prescriptions may explain a significant share of the abandoned prescriptions. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Authors: Miriam Qvarnström; Thomas Kahan; Helle Kieler; Lena Brandt; Jan Hasselström; Kristina Bengtsson Boström; Karin Manhem; Per Hjerpe; Björn Wettermark Journal: Eur J Clin Pharmacol Date: 2013-07-16 Impact factor: 2.953