ArticleInternational journal of clinical pharmacy2016
Maltese prescribers use of off-label and unlicensed medicines in children: perceptions and attitudes.
Article in International journal of clinical pharmacy, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.
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Who cites it
4 citing papers in PubMed.
- Unlicensed "Special" Medicines: Using the Pillar Integration Model to Understand Stakeholder Perspectives Across Care Settings.Integrated pharmacy research & practice · 2024Article
- Off-label medications in the treatment of hospitalized children with atopic dermatitis.Postepy dermatologii i alergologii · 2023Article
- Supporting patients with unlicensed medicine use: Analysing the script schemas for prescribing, pharmaceutical assessment and supply.Exploratory research in clinical and social pharmacy · 2021Article
- Attitudes, knowledge and views on off-label prescribing in children among healthcare professionals in Malaysia.International journal of clinical pharmacy · 2019Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
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Abstract
Background Reviews of paediatric prescriptions in the community setting have quantified off-label use to reach 52 % and unlicensed use to reach 17 %. Objective To investigate the attitudes and perceptions of a sample of paediatricians and family doctors practising in primary care on off-label and unlicensed prescribing in children in Malta. Methods A validated de novo 18-item questionnaire was used to conduct face-to-face, semi-structured interviews with 24 family doctors and 6 paediatricians during 2014. Results Although only 10 % of participants correctly defined off-label/unlicensed use, after the definitions were provided, 97 % admitted to knowingly prescribe medicines in this manner. Such use primarily involved prescribing to younger age groups and different indications to those recommended in the product literature. The main contributing factor for prescribing in an off-label/unlicensed manner was a lack of appropriately licensed paediatric medicines. The most commonly implicated class of medicines was cough/cold medicines. The principal concerns were medico-legal and safety concerns. Conclusion Participants knowingly prescribed medicines in an off-label/unlicensed manner. The perceived reasons were prescribing for a younger age and for indications outside the Summary of Product Characteristics. Divergent prescribing recommendations in different sources of information, prescribers' personal experience and reliance on medical representatives contribute to inadvertent off-label/unlicensed prescribing.
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Registered trials
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