ArticleThe British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners2021
Guidance impact on primary care prescribing rates of simple analgesia: an interrupted time series analysis in England.
Article in The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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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.
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Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Macrophages in Renal Injury, Repair, Fibrosis Following Acute Kidney Injury and Targeted Therapy.Frontiers in immunology · 2022Pooled it
- Sociodemographic disparities in primary care management of back pain in children and young people: a population-based cohort study.European spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society · 2026Article
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Authors and funding
9 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundIn March 2018, NHS England published guidance for clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) to encourage implementation of policy to reduce primary care prescriptions of over-the-counter medications, including simple analgesia.
aimTo investigate the impact of guidance publication on prescribing rates of simple analgesia (oral paracetamol, oral ibuprofen, and topical non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) in primary care; CCG guidance implementation intentions; and whether the guidance has created health inequality based on socioeconomic status. DESIGN AND
settingInterrupted time series analysis of primary care prescribing data in England.
methodPractice-level prescribing data from January 2015 to March 2019 were obtained from NHS Digital. Interrupted time series analyses were used to assess the association of guidance publication with prescribing rates. The association between practice-level prescribing rates and Index of Multiple Deprivation scores before and after publication was quantified using multivariable Poisson regression. Freedom of information requests were submitted to all CCGs.
resultsThere was a statistically significant 4.4% reduction in prescribing of simple analgesia following guidance publication (adjusted incidence rate ratio 0.96, 95% CI = 0.92 to 0.99,
conclusionGuidance publication was associated with a small reduction in the prescribing rates of simple analgesia across England, without evidence of creating additional health inequality. Careful implementation by CCGs would be required to optimise cost saving to the NHS.
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