Evidence map›Paper›PMID 25479360›Full record

Trial reportPloS one2014

Impact of a warning CPOE system on the inappropriate pill splitting of prescribed medications in outpatients.

Chia-Chen Hsu, Chia-Yu Chou, Chia-Lin Chou, Chin-Chin Ho, Tzeng-Ji Chen, Shu-Chiung Chiang, Min-Shan Wu, Sen-Wen Wang, Chung-Yuan Lee, Yueh-Ching Chou

Abstract readClinical Trial
In one paragraph

Trial report in PloS one, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors.

Chia-Chen HsuDepartment of Pharmacy, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.
Chia-Yu ChouDepartment of Critical Care Medicine, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan; Department and Institute of Pharmacology, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan; Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei, Taiwan; Department of Medicine, Tzu Chi University, Hualian, Taiwan.
Chia-Lin ChouDepartment of Pharmacy, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.
Chin-Chin HoDepartment of Pharmacy, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan; College of Pharmacy, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.
Tzeng-Ji ChenInstitute of Hospital and Health Care Administration, School of Medicine, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan; Department of Family Medicine, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.
Shu-Chiung ChiangInstitute of Hospital and Health Care Administration, School of Medicine, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan.
Min-Shan WuDepartment of Pharmacy, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.
Sen-Wen WangDepartment of Pharmacy, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.
Chung-Yuan LeeInformation Management Office, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.
Yueh-Ching ChouDepartment of Pharmacy, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan; Department and Institute of Pharmacology, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan; College of Pharmacy, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundPrescribing inappropriate pill splitting is not rare in clinical practice. To reduce inappropriate pill splitting, we developed an automatic warning system linked to a computerized physician order entry (CPOE) system for special oral formulation drugs in outpatient settings. We examined the impact of the warning system on inappropriate prescribing of pill splitting and assess prescribers' responses to the warnings.

methodsDrugs with extended-release or enteric-coated formulations that were not originally intended to be split were recognized as "special oral formulations". A hard-stop system which could examine non-integer doses of drugs with special oral formulations, provide warnings to interrupt inappropriate prescriptions was integrated in CPOE in a medical center since June 2010. We designed an intervention study to compare the inappropriate splitting before and after the implementation of the warning system (baseline period 2010 January to May vs. intervention period 2010 June to 2011 August). During the intervention period, prescription changes in response to a warning were logged and analyzed.

resultsA total of 470,611 prescribed drug items with 34 different drugs with special oral formulations were prescribed in the study period. During the 15-month intervention period, 909 warnings for 26 different drugs were triggered among 354,523 prescribed drug items with special oral formulations. The warning rate of inappropriate splitting in the late intervention period was lower than those in baseline period (0.16% vs. 0.61%, incidence rate ratio 0.27, 95% CI 0.23-0.31, P<0.001). In respond to warnings, physicians had to make adjustments, of which the majority was changing to an unsplit pill (72.9%).

conclusionsThe interruptive warning system could avoid the prescriptions with inappropriate pill splitting. Accordingly, physicians changed their behavior of prescribing special oral formulations regarding inappropriate pill splitting. We suggest the establishment of such system to target special oral formulations with warnings to prevent inappropriate pill splitting.

Indexed as

Drug PrescriptionsMedical Records Systems, ComputerizedAdolescentAdultAgedFemaleHumansMaleMiddle Aged

Identifiers

PMID25479360
PMCPMC4257670

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.