Using Medicines Information

216 Pages·2016·3.467 MB·English

by  Christine Bond

Using Medicines Information
No. 9 in the Harnessing Health Information series
Series Editor
MICHAEL RIGBY

Using Medicines Information
Edited by
CHRISTINE BOND
Professor of Primary Care (Pharmacy)
University of Aberdeen
Foreword by
ANN LEWIS
Secretary and Registrar
Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain
Boca Raton London New York
CRC Press is an imprint of the
Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
First published 2008 by Radcliffe Publishing
Published 2016 by CRC Press
Taylor & Francis Group
6000 Broken Sound Parkway NW, Suite 300
Boca Raton, FL 33487-2742
© 2008 Christine Bond
CRC Press is an imprint of Taylor & Francis Group, an Informa business
No claim to original U.S. Government works
ISBN-13: 978-1-85775-690-6 (pbk)
Christine Bond has asserted her right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act
1998 to be identifi ed as the author of this work.
This book contains information obtained from authentic and highly regarded sources.
While all reasonable efforts have been made to publish reliable data and information,
neither the author[s] nor the publisher can accept any legal responsibility or liability for
any errors or omissions that may be made. The publishers wish to make clear that any
views or opinions expressed in this book by individual editors, authors or contributors are
personal to them and do not necessarily reflect the views/opinions of the publishers. The
information or guidance contained in this book is intended for use by medical, scientific or
health-care professionals and is provided strictly as a supplement to the medical or other
professional’s own judgement, their knowledge of the patient’s medical history, relevant
manufacturer’s instructions and the appropriate best practice guidelines. Because of the
rapid advances in medical science, any information or advice on dosages, procedures or
diagnoses should be independently verified. The reader is strongly urged to consult the
relevant national drug formulary and the drug companies’ and device or material
manufacturers’ printed instructions, and their websites, before administering or utilizing
any of the drugs, devices or materials mentioned in this book. This book does not indicate
whether a particular treatment is appropriate or suitable for a particular individual.
Ultimately it is the sole responsibility of the medical professional to make his or her own
professional judgements, so as to advise and treat patients appropriately. The authors and
publishers have also attempted to trace the copyright holders of all material reproduced in
this publication and apologize to copyright holders if permission to publish in this form
has not been obtained. If any copyright material has not been acknowledged please write
and let us know so we may rectify in any future reprint.
Except as permitted under U.S. Copyright Law, no part of this book may be reprinted,
reproduced, transmitted, or utilized in any form by any electronic, mechanical, or other
means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying, microfilming, and
recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without written permission
from the publishers.
Trademark Notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered
trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.
Visit the Taylor & Francis Web site at
http://www.taylorandfrancis.com
and the CRC Press Web site at
http://www.crcpress.com
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Typeset by Pindar New Zealand (Egan Reid), Auckland, New Zealand
Contents
Foreword vii
Preface ix
About the editor xi
Contributors xii
Tables and fi gures xiv
Glossary xvi
1 Introduction 1
Christine Bond and Christine Clarke
2 Regulatory issues 13
Edward Mallinson
3 Evidence-based medicine 29
Angela Timoney
4 Clinical decision support systems 47
Stuart McTaggart
5 Online information systems 61
Nicola Gray and Alison Blenkinsopp
6 Pharmacoepidemiology, public health and pharmacy 83
Roger Walker
7 Routine prescribing data 101
Marion Bennie and Iain Bishop
8 Health economic uses of drug data 125
Stephen Chapman
9 Pharmacovigilance 141
Deborah Layton and Anthony Cox
10 The future: service changes and challenges
for data linkage 169
Christine Bond and Christine Clarke
Index 187
Foreword
This book resulted from a chance meeting with Michael Rigby the
Editor of the series with whom I had worked some years previously.
When he told me about his work on the series we discussed the
possibility of including a book on medicines information to fi ll a
current gap. I agreed to fi nd an editor. I was delighted when Christine
Bond agreed to take on the task. Christine is an established author
and editor and we all share an interest in optimising the use of
information for the benefi t of healthcare so this was a happy alliance.
Everyone uses information – not only healthcare professionals and
managers but also patients and the public. For all of these people
information should be easy to assimilate and to understand.
New technologies have had as signifi cant an impact on methods
of communication as on treatment. The development of electronic
means of communication, data storage and retrieval has increased the
availability of information, requiring new approaches to managing
and using it. Similarly new technologies have led to the development
of new and complex medicines opening up new opportunities for
treatment which require information and explanation.
Medicines are the most common therapeutic intervention in healt-
h care. This book Using Medicines Information is both necessary and
timely. Christine Bond has drawn together a number of expert con-
tributors on a carefully selected series of topics which take the reader
from availability and supply through considerations for rational and
cost effective use to monitoring for both outcome and safety.
In the present policy climate which recognises the need for choice
and access, this volume can be recommended to those with an interest
in medicines and their use. Serendipity has resulted in many good
vii
FOREWORD
things, this book fulfi ls a need and will, I hope, be the fi rst of many
editions.
Ann Lewis
Secretary and Registrar
Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain
August 2007
viii
Preface
I am delighted to have been asked to edit this book on Using Medicines
Information as part of the Harnessing Health Information Series. So much
of health now depends on the use of medicines, either to prevent
future health-related events, or to treat existing conditions. There is
also a general interest in lifestyle drugs and options for private health-
care through purchase of these. Within the whole NHS prescribed
medication accounts for approximately a tenth of all healthcare costs,
so it is clearly important that we have information about medicines,
their usage, and their costs to support appropriate use of this sizeable
budget.
The structure of the book looks initially at some basic information
about the distribution and supply of medicines including recently
introduced changes to allow wider access (Chapter 1), followed
by a more detailed consideration of the overlying legal framework
(Chapter 2). Then follows the very topical issue of evidence-based
practice (Chapter 3) with consideration of how such information
can be accessed in practice by individual prescribers (Chapter 4),
patients and the public (Chapter 5). In Chapter 6, the principles of
pharmacoepidemiology are introduced, with some of the topics
revisited in subsequent chapters, such as performance monitoring
using routine data in Chapter 7, health economics in Chapter 8 and
pharmacovigilance in Chapter 9. Finally the challenges presented
in accessing to best effect the enormous volume of information held
across the various databases are considered (Chapter 10).
The text should be of interest to those with a clinical background
but without detailed knowledge of these datasets (for example
doctors, pharmacists, and new prescribers) as well as health service
ix