Impact of a system to assist in clinical decision-making in primary healthcare in Catalonia: prescription Self Audit.

BACKGROUND: In 2008, in the context of a complete computerisation of medical records, the Institut Català de la Salut (ICS, Catalan Health Institute) implemented a system in its electronic clinical workstation (ECW) to assist decision-making at the prescription level. This system is known as Self Audit, and it supports physicians in reviewing the medication of their patients. Self Audit provides lists of patients presenting medication-related problems (MRPs) that have potential for improvement, and provides therapeutic recommendations that are easy to apply from the system itself. The aim of this study was to analyse the main results derived from the use of Self Audit in primary care (PC) in Catalonia, and the effect of an incentive-based safety indicator on the results obtained. METHODS: A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out to analyse variations in the MRPs detected by Self Audit during 2016, 2017, and 2018 in PC in Catalonia. The effect of a safety indicator on the results obtained was also studied. This safety indicator includes the most clinically relevant MRPs (i.e., therapeutic duplications, safety alerts from the Spanish Medicines Agency, and incidences of polymedication in patients over 65 years of age). Variation in the MRPs was measured using the differences between two evaluation points (initial and final). An MRP was considered resolved if the recommendation specified in the alert was followed. The prescriptions of 6411 PC doctors of the ICS who use the ECW and provide their services to 5.8 million Catalans through 288 PC teams were analysed. RESULTS: Analysis of the total safety-based MRPs detected by Self Audit gave overall resolutions from April to December of 9% (21,547) in 2016, 7% (15,924) in 2017, and 1% (2392) in 2018 out of the total number of MRPs recorded in April each year. Examination of the 3 types of MRPs with the highest clinical relevance that were linked to the safety indicator gave overall resolutions of 41% in 2016 (17,358), 20% in 2017 (7655), and 21% in 2018 (8135). CONCLUSIONS: The ICS Self Audit tool assists in reducing the number of safety-based MRPs in a systematic manner, and yields superior results for the MRPs linked to a safety indicator included in the incentives of PC physicians.

Safer prescription of drugs: impact of the PREFASEG system to aid clinical decision-making in primary care in Catalonia.

BACKGROUND: In 2008, the Institut Català de la Salut (ICS, Catalan Health Institute) implemented a prescription decision support system in its electronic clinical workstation (ECW), which automatically generates online alerts for general practitioners when a possible medication-related problem (MRP) is detected. This tool is known as PREFASEG, and at the time of beginning a new treatment, it automatically assesses the suitability of the treatment for the individual patient. This analysis is based on ongoing treatments, demographic characteristics, existing pathologies, and patient biochemical variables. As a result of the assessment, therapeutic recommendations are provided. The objective of this study is to present the PREFASEG tool, analyse the main alerts that it generates, and determine the degree of alert acceptance. METHODS: A cross-sectional descriptive study was carried out to analyse the generation of MRP-related alerts detected by PREFASEG during 2016, 2017, and 2018 in primary care (PC) in Catalonia. The number of MRP alerts generated, the drugs involved, and the acceptance/rejection of the alerts were analysed. An alert was considered "accepted" when the medication that generated the alert was not prescribed, thereby following the recommendation given by the tool. The MRP alerts studied were therapeutic duplications, safety alerts issued by the Spanish Medicines Agency, and drugs not recommended for use in geriatrics. The prescriptions issued by 6411 ICS PC physicians who use the ECW and provide their services to 5.8 million Catalans through 288 PC teams were analysed. RESULTS: During the 3 years examined, 67.2 million new prescriptions were analysed, for which PREFASEG generated 4,379,866 alerts (1 for every 15 new treatments). A total of 1,222,159 alerts (28%) were accepted. Pharmacological interactions and therapeutic duplications were the most detected alerts, representing 40 and 30% of the total alerts, respectively. The main pharmacological groups involved in the safety alerts were nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and renin-angiotensin system inhibitors. CONCLUSIONS: During the period analysed, 28% of the prescriptions wherein a toxicity-related PREFASEG alert was generated led to treatment modification, thereby helping to prevent the generation of potential safety MRPs. However, the tool should be further improved to increase alert acceptance and thereby improve patient safety.

Respuesta de los autores: Hipertensión arterial: más allá de las guías / Author’s reply: High blood pressure: beyond the guidelines

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Utilización de antivíricos en las pandemias gripales / No disponible

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Documento de consenso sobre la utilización de antibióticos en atención primaria / Consensus document on the use of antibiotics in primary care

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Tratamiento médico de la insuficiencia cardíaca basado en la evidencia / Evidence Based Treatment of Heart Failure

Introducción y objetivos. Se han elaborado unas recomendaciones de tratamiento de la insuficiencia cardíaca a partir de la revisión sistemática de la evidencia disponible sobre los distintos tratamientos farmacológicos. Material y métodos. La revisión se ha centrado en el tratamiento de la insuficiencia cardíaca crónica y sistólica. Se identificaron todos los estudios publicados en inglés sobre los tratamientos farmacológicos de la insuficiencia cardíaca. Para cada tratamiento se clasificaron las evidencias en función de: a) variables de eficacia (reducción de la mortalidad y de los ingresos hospitalarios, mejoría de la clase funcional, fracción de eyección y de la tolerancia al ejercicio), y b) nivel de calidad de la evidencia según una escala de evaluación. También se revisaron las evidencias sobre las comparaciones y las combinaciones de los tratamientos, y sobre su toxicidad y costes. Resultados. Las pautas de tratamiento han sido definidas en función de la clase funcional de la NYHA y se han clasificado en las categorías A, B o C según el nivel de calidad de la evidencia disponible. Las evidencias de mortalidad se han considerado las más importantes. Se han tenido en cuenta los fármacos de primera elección, las alternativas y otros posibles tratamientos. Conclusiones. Se dispone de suficiente información para elaborar recomendaciones terapéuticas en todas las fases de la insuficiencia cardíaca basadas en evidencias sobre variables, como la reducción de la mortalidad o de los ingresos hospitalarios. Esto pone de manifiesto el interés y la prioridad de utilizarlas en el proceso de evaluación y mejora de resultados en este proceso patológico (AU)