Collaboration Between GPs and Psychologists: Dissatisfaction from the Psychologists' Perspective-A Cross-Sectional Study.

Collaborative mental health practices in primary care significantly enhances patients' health. Collaboration between general practitioners (GPs) and psychologists could improve non-drug mental care. Little is known of psychologists' perception of GPs and their collaboration. This study aimed to assess the quality of collaboration between GPs and psychologists from the psychologists' perspective and to identify factors associated with satisfactory collaboration. A questionnaire was sent by post to all private psychologists in a region of France in February, 2017. We carried out descriptive and multivariate analysis of factors associated with satisfactory collaboration. The response rate was 38% (n = 434 out of 1128). Collaboration between GPs and psychologists was considered unsatisfactory by 64% (n = 278) of psychologists. The main barriers reported were lack of time, lack of understanding and poor interactions/communication. Sixty-nine percent of psychologists felt that GPs knew little about their work. Psychologists had professional exchanges with an average of three local GPs and received referral information for 12% of new patients. Out of 10 new patients, 2 were referred by a GP. In a multivariate analysis, satisfactory collaboration was significantly associated with the number of GPs psychologists exchanged with (OR 1.29), receipt of referral information (OR 2.18) and a positive assessment of GPs' understanding of psychologists' activity (OR 3.35). Psychologists considered the collaboration between GPs and psychologists as substandard, as well as GPs' knowledge of psychologists' activity. More interactions and better understanding would improve their collaboration.

Identifying competencies required for medication prescribing for general practice residents: a nominal group technique study.

BACKGROUND: Teaching of medication prescribing is a specific challenge in general practice curriculum. The aim of this study was to identify and rank the competencies required for prescribing medication for general practice residents in France. METHODS: Qualitative consensus study using the nominal group technique. We invited different stakeholders of the general practice curriculum and medication use in primary care to a series of meetings. The nominal group technique allowed for the quick development of a list of consensual and ranked answers to the following question: "At the end of their general practice curriculum, in terms of medication prescribing, what should residents be able to do?". RESULTS: Four meetings were held that involved a total of 31 participants, enabling the creation of a final list of 29 ranked items, grouped in 4 domains. The four domains identified were 'pharmacology', 'regulatory standards', 'therapeutics', and 'communication (both with patients and healthcare professionals)'. Overall, the five items the most highly valued across the four meetings were: 'write a legible and understandable prescription', 'identify specific populations', 'prescribe the doses and durations following the indication', 'explain a lack of medication prescription to the patient', 'decline inappropriate medication request'. The 'communication skills' domain was the domain with the highest number of items (10 items), and with the most highly-valued items. CONCLUSION: The study results suggest a need for developing general practice residents' communication skills regarding medication prescribing.

More on the "Triple Whammy": antihypertensive drugs, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory agents and acute kidney injury - a case/non-case study in the French pharmacovigilance database.

It has been suggested that the risk of acute kidney injury (AKI) increases with the number of drugs associated between non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEis) [or angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs)] and diuretics. We aimed to investigate whether the number of drugs associated between NSAIDs, ACEis, ARBs and diuretics was associated to disproportionate reporting of AKI in the French Pharmacovigilance Database. In reports of Adverse Drug Reactions (ADRs) recorded between 01 January 2008 and 31 December 2010, we selected patients whose medications included at least one oral antihypertensive drug. We used a case/non-case methodology. Cases were AKI and non-cases were all the remaining reports. Among the 11,442 ADR reports in patients under antihypertensive drug recorded in the French Pharmacovigilance Database, 837 ADRs were AKI (7.3%, 95% CI 6.8-7.8). AKI and the number of drugs associated were disproportionately reported (one drug alone: adjusted ROR 2.19, 95% CI: 1.65-2.89, two drugs: adjusted ROR 5.27, 95% CI: 4.00-6.94, three and more: adjusted ROR 16.46, 95% CI: 11.38-23.80). There was no significant association between NSAIDs' half-lives and reporting of AKI (adjusted ROR=0.54, 95% CI: 0.25-1.15). Given the widespread use of these hazardous drugs in general population, caution is needed when they are associated.

Which adverse events are related to health care during hospitalization in elderly inpatients?

BACKGROUND: Adverse events result in longer hospital stays and increase costs and mortality. We aimed to assess incidence of adverse events occurring during hospitalization in a post-emergency unit and to describe their characteristics. METHODS: All adverse events occurring in patients during their hospitalization in a post-emergency unit in a French university hospital (20 beds) were systematically and consecutively recorded from September 2009 to February 2011. Patients with adverse events were compared to up to three control patients, matched for date of admission +/- age in the same unit. RESULTS: We identified 56 patients with 64 adverse events, giving an incidence of 3.0/100 patients admitted/year. Fifty-one adverse events were drug-related. Patients had a median age of 82.5 years with a male/female ratio of 1/1.4. They presented a median Charlson score of 1 and the median number of medications was 6. The drugs most frequently involved in drug-related events were nervous system drugs (47%) and anti-infectives (22%). In multivariate analysis, a Charlson score ≥ 2 was associated with the occurrence of adverse events (OR 0.4; 95% CI [0.21 - 0.80]). CONCLUSIONS: Systematic recording showed that adverse events were not rare in a post-emergency unit. Patients with comorbid conditions were less likely to present an adverse event, possibly because of greater precautions taken by the medical team.

["Local" or "mobile" screening for diabetic retinopathy in general practice by non-mydriatic digital cameras? about the Diabetes Midi-Pyrénées network activity between 2005 and 2010]. / Dépistage "fixe" ou "itinérant" de la rétinopathie diabétique par rétinographe non mydriatique? A propos du bilan d'activité du réseau Diabète Midi-Pyrénées entre 2005 et 2010.

Fundus photographs using non-mydriatic digital cameras for diabetic retinopathy screening have been studied in France during the past 10 years. Nevertheless, the different screening modalities have not been compared. The main goal of this study was to compare patient recruitment with two different screening modalities, and secondarily to compare diagnostic effectiveness and cost. A retrospective study analyzed data from the Diabetes Midi Pyrenees Network in 2005 and between 2006 and 2010. In 2005, a vehicle with digital camera traveled through a rural department in order to screen diabetic patients whose last fundus examination was performed greater than 1 year previously. Between 2006 and 2010, general practitioners sent their diabetic patients whose last fundus examination was performed greater than 1 year previously to a "local" screening site. In the two cases, fundus photographs were made by trained operator at screening site and analyzed by an ophthalmologist. The "mobile" screening recruited 698 patients, and the "local" screening 345 patients. Patients recruited by "mobile" screening were older than those recruited by "local" screening. They were preferentially men and suffered from diabetes from far longer The diagnostic performance of "local" screening was 26.8%, and it was 28.6% for "mobile" screening (p = 0.47). The cost of screening was higher for "mobile" screening: 116 Euro against 61 Euro for "local" screening. "Mobile" screening could allow more patient recruitment than "local" screening when geographic and demographic constraints are more important.

Patients' Knowledge About Analgesic-Antipyretic Medications Purchased in Community Pharmacies: A Descriptive Study.

The objective of this study was to describe the level of knowledge about paracetamol (acetaminophen), ibuprofen, and aspirin of subjects who purchased nonprescription medications containing one of these drugs. We conducted this cross-sectional descriptive study in 42 community pharmacies located in southwestern France between July and November 2013. A six-item self-administered questionnaire was used. Participants were asked to identify the active ingredient contained in 14 brand-name analgesic-antipyretics, to state the maximum daily dose of paracetamol, ibuprofen, and aspirin, the recommended first-line analgesic, and precautions of use or contraindications for paracetamol, ibuprofen, and aspirin. Among 576 participants, the identification of paracetamol ranged from 58% (for Dafalgan or Efferalgan) to 90% (for Doliprane), the identification of ibuprofen from 34% (for Nureflex) to 63% (for Nurofen), and the identification of aspirin was 70% (for Aspegic). The maximum recommended daily dose of paracetamol, ibuprofen, and aspirin was known by 58.3%, 17.7%, and 19.3% of participants, respectively, whereas 6.8%, 17.2%, and 13.2% stated supratherapeutic daily doses. Paracetamol was correctly stated as the first-line analgesic-antipyretic by 76.2% of participants. Knowledge on major precautions of use or contraindications was poor (45.8% and 53.6% for ibuprofen and aspirin use during pregnancy, and 14.1% for concurrent use of anticoagulants and ibuprofen). Purchasers of nonprescription analgesic-antipyretics had poor knowledge on the medication they purchased.

Parenteral anticoagulants use in general practice: a cross-sectional study in South Western France.

Using parenteral anticoagulants in compliance with their summaries of product characteristics (SPCs) and consensus guidelines is associated with decreased rates of adverse drug reactions. The objectives were to assess compliance of parenteral anticoagulants use with SPCs and 4 consensus guidelines in outpatients of general practice. A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among 112 teaching general practitioners' offices, from May to October 2011. Among the 332 adult outpatients consecutively included, 108 (32.5%) had a parenteral anticoagulant therapy complying with SPCs for both indication and regimen. The rate of compliance increased when considering consensus guidelines (159 patients, 47.9%). Rate of adverse events was 5.4%, including 0.6% of serious adverse events. This study showed that the use of parenteral anticoagulants complies with indications and regimens of SPCs in only 1 of the 3 outpatients. Further studies should be conducted in primary care to explore reasons for such low compliance rates.

Drug interactions between antihypertensive drugs and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory agents: a descriptive study using the French Pharmacovigilance database.

Drug-drug interactions (DDIs) between antihypertensive drugs and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) can lead to adverse drug reactions (ADRs). Guidelines are available to help prescribers deal with these drug associations, but their implementation is not well evaluated. The aims of this study were to assess the prevalence of NSAIDs exposure in patients treated with antihypertensive drugs, using the French Pharmacovigilance database, and explore the ADRs related to DDIs between antihypertensive drugs and NSAIDs. Over the 11, 442 notifications of ADRs recorded in this database in patients treated with oral antihypertensive drugs between 2008 and 2010, 517 (4.5 and 95% CI: 4.1-4.9) also included exposure to NSAIDs. These subjects were more frequently women, took more drugs in general, and were younger and less frequently treated with antiplatelet drugs. In 24.2% of them (125 patients), a DDI between NSAIDs and antihypertensive drugs was potentially the cause of the reported ADR. Acute renal failure caused by DDIs between NSAIDs and angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEIs), angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs), or diuretics was the most frequently reported ADR (20.7%). Finally, in the French Pharmacovigilance database, around one-fourth of associations NSAIDs  +  antihypertensive drugs are associated with a 'serious' ADR (mainly acute renal failure), suggesting that this well-known DDI is not enough taken into account by prescribers.

Baclofen for alcohol dependence in France: incidence of treated patients and prescription patterns--a cohort study.

Recently, baclofen has been widely promoted for treatment of alcohol dependence in France. Our aim was firstly to describe the incidence of patients newly treated with baclofen for alcohol dependence in France from 2007 to 2011, and secondly to describe baclofen prescription patterns and prescribers. A retrospective cohort study of patients newly treated with baclofen was conducted using the "Echantillon Généraliste des Bénéficiaires" database (EGB). Patients with a first dispensation of baclofen between 01/01/2007 and 31/12/2011, followed by a second in the next 120 days, were included. Patients were considered treated with baclofen for neurological conditions if at least one of the following conditions was found to be true: (1) presence of a neurological condition for which baclofen could be prescribed, (2) dispensation of dantrolene, another anti-spastic drug, or (3) hospitalization for a neurological condition for which baclofen could be prescribed. We assumed that all the remaining patients were treated for alcohol dependence. During the 5-year period, 676 patients were incident users. While the annual incidence rate of patients newly treated with baclofen for neurological conditions remained stable, the annual incidence rate of patients newly treated with baclofen for alcohol dependence increased by a factor of 2.9 between 2007 (0.09/1000 person-years) and 2011 (0.26/1000 person-years). In the alcohol dependence group, median duration of baclofen treatment was 143.5 [74.0; 377.0] days; median daily dose was 24.4 [14.8; 39.5] mg. This study demonstrated the rapidly increasing use of baclofen in France for treatment of alcohol dependence.

Effectiveness of drug tests in outpatients starting opioid substitution therapy.

We aimed to assess the effectiveness of drug tests for treatment retention in outpatients starting opioid substitution therapy. A retrospective cohort was created from the data of the French health insurance system database for the Midi-Pyrenees region. Patients starting opioid substitution treatment (OST) were included and followed for 18 to 30 months. Two groups of patients were defined: the drug test group (at least one drug test reimbursement) and a control group (no drug test reimbursement). The cohort included 1507 patients. During follow-up, 39 subjects (2.6%) had at least one drug test reimbursement. Mean treatment retention was 207 days in the control group and 411 days in the drug test group (p < 0.001). With a multivariate Cox model, drug tests were associated with treatment retention: hazard ratio 0.55 (95% CI: 0.38-0.80). Use of a drug test in follow-up of opioid substitution treatment, although rarely prescribed, significantly improved treatment retention.

Laboratory monitoring of patients treated with antihypertensive drugs and newly exposed to non steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs: a cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Drug-Drug Interactions between Non Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs) and Angiotensin Converting Enzyme Inhibitors (ACEIs), Angiotensin Receptor Blocker (ARBs) or diuretics can lead to renal failure and hyperkalemia. Thus, monitoring of serum creatinine and potassium is recommended when a first dispensing of NSAID occur in patients treated with these drugs. METHODS: We conducted a pharmacoepidemiological retrospective cohort study using data from the French Health Insurance Reimbursement Database to evaluate the proportion of serum creatinine and potassium laboratory monitoring in patients treated with ACEI, ARB or diuretic and receiving a first dispensing of NSAID. We described the first dispensing of NSAID among 3,500 patients of a 4-year cohort (6,633 patients treated with antihypertensive drugs) and analyzed serum creatinine and potassium laboratory monitoring within the 3 weeks after the first NSAID dispensing. RESULTS: General Practitioners were the most frequent prescribers of NSAIDs (85.5%, 95% CI: 84.3-86.6). The more commonly prescribed NSAIDs were ibuprofen (20%), ketoprofen (15%), diclofenac (15%) and piroxicam (12%). Serum creatinine and potassium monitoring was 10.7% (95% CI: 9.5-11.8) in patients treated by ACEIs, ARBs or diuretics. Overall, monitoring was more frequently performed to women aged over 60, treated with digoxin or glucose lowering drugs, but not to patients treated with ACEIs, ARBs or diuretics. Monitoring was more frequent when NSAIDs' prescribers were cardiologists or anesthesiologists. CONCLUSION: Monitoring of serum creatinine and potassium of patients treated with ACEIs, ARBs or diuretics and receiving a first NSAID dispensing is insufficiently performed and needs to be reinforced through specific interventions.