ArticleThe British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners2009
Variations in anxiolytic and hypnotic prescribing by GPs: a cross-sectional analysis using data from the UK Quality and Outcomes Framework.
Article in The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners, 2009. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 16 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
16 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Pharmacological interventions for benzodiazepine discontinuation in chronic benzodiazepine users.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2018Pooled it
- General practitioners' experiences and perceptions of benzodiazepine prescribing: systematic review and meta-synthesis.BMC family practice · 2013Pooled it
- Trial
- Evaluating the safety of mental health-related prescribing in UK primary care: a cross-sectional study using the Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD).BMJ quality & safety · 2022Article
- [Health-related quality of life in patients consuming benzodiazepine].Atencion primaria · 2021Article
- Medicines associated with dependence or withdrawal: a mixed-methods public health review and national database study in England.The lancet. Psychiatry · 2019Review
- Time Trend in Psychotropic Medication Use in Spain: A Nationwide Population-Based Study.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2016Article
- Residential segregation, dividing walls and mental health: a population-based record linkage study.Journal of epidemiology and community health · 2016Article
- Benzodiazepine and z-hypnotic prescribing for older people in primary care: a cross-sectional population-based study.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2016Article
- General practice variation when initiating long-term prescribing of proton pump inhibitors: a nationwide cohort study.BMC family practice · 2016Article
- Variation and ethnic inequalities in treatment of common mental disorders before, during and after pregnancy: combined analysis of routine and research data in the Born in Bradford cohort.BMC psychiatry · 2016Article
- Effect of anxiolytic and hypnotic drug prescriptions on mortality hazards: retrospective cohort study.BMJ (Clinical research ed.) · 2014Article
- Association between patient and general practice characteristics and unplanned first-time admissions for cancer: observational study.British journal of cancer · 2012Article
- Combining QOF data with the care bundle approach may provide a more meaningful measure of quality in general practice.BMC health services research · 2012Article
- Benzodiazepine and z-hypnotic prescribing from acute psychiatric inpatient discharge to long-term care in the community.Pharmacy practiceArticle
- Primary care hypnotic and anxiolytic prescription: Reviewing prescribing practice over 8 years.Journal of family medicine and primary careArticle
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3 authors.
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No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundWide variations in anxiolytic and hypnotic prescribing by GPs in England have been described, but are largely unexplained.
aimTo examine the relationships between the volume of anxiolytics and hypnotics prescribed by GPs and their practice characteristics, population demography, and performance indicators. DESIGN OF STUDY: Cross-sectional study.
settingAll general practices in England.
methodsA dataset was constructed for 8469 (98.8%) general practices including: standardised prescribing volume data for anxiolytics and hypnotics (average daily quantities per 1000 STAR-PUs [Specific Therapeutic group Age-sex weightings Related Prescribing Units]), practice descriptors, Index of Multiple Deprivation 2004, ethnicity data (2001 UK Census), and Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF) data.
resultsThe standardised volume of anxiolytics and hypnotics prescribed varied eightfold between practices on the 5th and 95th centiles. A regression model was constructed which explained 20.5% of the variation. Higher prescribing practices were located in more deprived areas (standardised beta 0.31), but also in areas with a lower proportion of ethnic minorities (black or black British = -0.22; Asian or Asian British = -0.12). Higher volumes were also prescribed by practices with lower QOF scores ('Clinical Care' domain = -0.12; 'Organisational' domain = -0.08). Other significant but weaker predictors were: lower proportions of female GPs, higher recorded prevalence of serious mental illness and non-training status. The proportion of GPs trained outside UK was not a predictor.
conclusionDemographic factors were more powerful determinants of prescribing than characteristics of the practice itself. Nevertheless, the findings provide some support for the notion that high prescribing practices were less well developed, in that their QOF scores were lower and they were less likely to be training practices.
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