engleski

Outcome measures in drug prescribing

Drug prescribing is a fundamental component of health care, and its optimisation became an issue of international importance. Drug use evaluation assesses the actual process of medication administration or dispensing with regard to appropriate indication, drug selection, dose, route of administration, duration of treatment, potential drug interactions. Process of drug use evaluation may also assess the outcomes of treatment. Outcomes may be measured using different indicators. They are usually used at population level, but could be used at an individual patient level as well. Medical records are typically considered the gold standard for capturing outcomes. Other secondary data sources are more limited in measuring outcomes. In general, outcome measures are health or cost related and reflect the stakeholders perspective. Health related outcome measures evaluate the effectiveness of drug therapy and include rates of cured disease, rates of decreased levels of a clinical parameter, adverse drug reactions, drug-related hospital admissions, therapeutic failure, patient’s quality of life, mortality. Cost related outcome measures mostly fall into the complex domain of pharmacoeconomics. In evaluating outcomes in terms of cost, not only drug expenditures but direct and indirect medical costs have to be taken into account.

drug prescribing; outcomes

nije evidentirano