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Improving prescribing practice through pharmacy audit

D. Griffith (Department of Health Care for Older People, Mayday University Hospital, Thornton Heath, UK)
P. Diggory (Department of Health Care for Older People, Mayday University Hospital, Thornton Heath, UK)
V. Jones (Department of Health Care for Older People, Mayday University Hospital, Thornton Heath, UK)
A. Mehta (Department of Health Care for Older People, Mayday University Hospital, Thornton Heath, UK)

International Journal of Health Care Quality Assurance

ISSN: 0952-6862

Article publication date: 1 April 2002

517

Abstract

The classic audit cycle has been applied to the prescribing practice to improve aspects of the quality of prescribing in the setting of a department of health care for older people in a district general hospital. Details the methods used both to increase the appropriate prescribing of drugs of proven benefit, and also to restrict the use of drugs which may prove hazardous. The latter provides an example of risk management. Also discusses the dilemmas posed in treating older people with multiple pathologies, on the one hand, trying to avoid an ageist approach, on the other, attempting to minimise the pitfalls of polypharmacy.

Keywords

Citation

Griffith, D., Diggory, P., Jones, V. and Mehta, A. (2002), "Improving prescribing practice through pharmacy audit", International Journal of Health Care Quality Assurance, Vol. 15 No. 2, pp. 74-79. https://doi.org/10.1108/09526860210421473

Publisher

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MCB UP Ltd

Copyright © 2002, MCB UP Limited

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