Introducing Pharmaceutical Care to Primary Care in Iceland—An Action Research Study

Even though pharmaceutical care is not a new concept in pharmacy, its introduction and development has proved to be challenging. In Iceland, general practitioners are not familiar with pharmaceutical care and additionally no such service is offered in pharmacies or primary care settings. Introducing pharmaceutical care in primary care in Iceland is making great efforts to follow other countries, which are bringing the pharmacist more into patient care. General practitioners are key stakeholders in this endeavor. The aim of this study was to introduce pharmacist-led pharmaceutical care into primary care clinics in Iceland in collaboration with general practitioners by presenting different setting structures. Action research provided the framework for this research. Data was collected from pharmaceutical care interventions, whereby the pharmaceutical care practitioner ensures that each of a patient’s medications is assessed to determine if it is appropriate, effective, safe, and that the patient can take medicine as expected. Sources of data included pharmaceutical care notes on patients, researcher’s notes, meetings, and interviews with general practitioners over the period of the study. The study ran from September 2013 to October 2015. Three separate semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with five general practitioners from one primary health care clinic in Iceland at different time points throughout the study. Pharmaceutical care was provided to elderly patients (n = 125) before and between general practitioners’ interviews. The study setting was a primary care clinic in the Reykjavik area and the patients’ homes. Results showed that the GPs’ knowledge about pharmacist competencies as healthcare providers and their potential in patient care increased. GPs would now like to have access to a pharmacist on a daily basis. Direct contact between the pharmacist and GPs is better when working in the same physical space. Pharmacist’s access to medical records is necessary for optimal service. Pharmacist-led clinical service was deemed most needed in dose dispensing polypharmacy patients. This research indicated that it was essential to introduce Icelandic GPs to the potential contribution of pharmacists in patient care and that action research was a useful methodology to promote and develop a relationship between those two health care providers in primary care in Iceland.Peer Reviewe

Epidemiology and association with outcomes of polypharmacy in patients undergoing surgery : retrospective, population-based cohort study

© The Author(s) 2023. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of BJS Society Ltd. Funding Information: This work was supported by the Foundation of St Josef’s Hospital in cooperation with the Icelandic Gerontological Research Centre, the National University Hospital of Iceland (to F.J.), the Landspitali University Hospital Science Fund (to M.I.S.), and the University of Iceland Research Fund (to F.J.). Publisher Copyright: © The Author(s) 2023. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of BJS Society Ltd.Background: The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of preoperative polypharmacy and the incidence of postoperative polypharmacy/hyper-polypharmacy in surgical patients and their association with adverse outcomes. Methods: This was a retrospective, population-based cohort study among patients older than or equal to 18 years undergoing surgery at a university hospital between 2005 and 2018. Patients were categorized based on the number of medications: non-polypharmacy (fewer than 5); polypharmacy (5–9); and hyper-polypharmacy (greater than or equal to 10). The 30-day mortality, prolonged hospitalization (greater than or equal to 10 days), and incidence of readmission were compared between medication-use categories. Results: Among 55 997 patients, the prevalence of preoperative polypharmacy was 32.3 per cent (95 per cent c.i. 33.5 to 34.3) and the prevalence of hyper-polypharmacy was 25.5 per cent (95 per cent c.i. 25.2 to 25.9). Thirty-day mortality was higher for patients exposed to preoperative hyper-polypharmacy (2.3 per cent) and preoperative polypharmacy (0.8 per cent) compared with those exposed to non-polypharmacy (0.6 per cent) (P < 0.001). The hazards ratio (HR) of long-term mortality was higher for patients exposed to hyper-polypharmacy (HR 1.32 (95 per cent c.i. 1.25 to 1.40)) and polypharmacy (HR 1.07 (95 per cent c.i. 1.01 to 1.14)) after adjustment for patient and procedural variables. The incidence of longer hospitalization (greater than or equal to 10 days) was higher for hyper-polypharmacy (11.3 per cent) and polypharmacy (6.3 per cent) compared with non-polypharmacy (4.1 per cent) (P < 0.001). The 30-day incidence of readmission was higher for patients exposed to hyper-polypharmacy (10.2 per cent) compared with polypharmacy (6.1 per cent) and non-polypharmacy (4.8 per cent) (P < 0.001). Among patients not exposed to polypharmacy, the incidence of new postoperative polypharmacy/hyper-polypharmacy was 33.4 per cent (95 per cent c.i. 32.8 to 34.1), and, for patients exposed to preoperative polypharmacy, the incidence of postoperative hyper-polypharmacy was 16.3 per cent (95 per cent c.i. 16.0 to 16.7). Conclusion: Preoperative polypharmacy and new postoperative polypharmacy/hyper-polypharmacy are common and associated with adverse outcomes. This highlights the need for increased emphasis on optimizing medication usage throughout the perioperative interval.Peer reviewe

Er þörf á sérstakri heilbrigðismóttöku fyrir háskólanemendur?

Efst á síðunni er hægt að nálgast greinina í heild sinni með því að smella á hlekkinnTilgangur: Víða erlendis hafa háskólanemendur aðgang að heilbrigðisþjónustu sem er sérstaklega ætluð þeim. Tilgangur þessarar könnunar meðal nemenda við Háskóla Íslands var að skoða þörf þeirra fyrir sérstaka heilbrigðismóttöku. Aðferð: Rafræn könnun var lögð fyrir 9744 nemendur við háskólann vorið 2011 sem voru á póstlista. Spurningalistinn var saminn af vinnuhópi sem í voru fulltrúar frá öllum deildum Heilbrigðisvísindasviðs Háskóla Íslands. Stuðst var við lýsandi tölfræði við gagnagreiningu. Niðurstöður: Alls bárust svör frá 1487 þátttakendum, 1427 íslenskumælandi og 60 enskumælandi, og gefa svörin því mynd af viðhorfum 15,2% nemenda við skólann. Úrtakið endurspeglar einkum viðhorf kvenstúdenta og nema í grunnnámi. Tæplega 40% íslensku nemanna og um 70% þeirra erlendu höfðu ekki heimilislækni á höfuðborgarsvæðinu. Niðurstöður sýndu að meirihluti þeirra þurfti á heilbrigðisþjónustu að halda á árinu fyrir könnunina en rúmlega helmingur beið með að leita eftir heilbrigðisþjónustu og var meginástæða þess kostnaður. Um þriðjungur íslensku nemanna og fimmtungur þeirra erlendu sögðust eiga í fjárhagsvanda. Um 92% þeirra íslensku og allir erlendu nemarnir sögðust mundu leita á móttöku þar sem þjónustan væri veitt af nemendum skólans undir leiðsögn kennara. Báðir hóparnir vildu hafa aðgang að fjölbreyttri heilbrigðisþjónustu. Ályktanir: Niðurstöðurnar gefa til kynna að þeir háskólanemendur, sem þátt tóku í könnuninni, hafi mikla þörf fyrir sérstaka heilbrigðismóttöku. Kostnaður hefur hvað mest hindrað þá í að leita eftir heilbrigðisþjónustu. Jafnframt er stór hópur án heimilislæknis, einkum sá erlendi, og hefur því ekki greiðan aðgang að heilbrigðisþjónustu á heilsugæslustöðvum.Purpose: In many neighbouring countries university students have access to health services which are specially geared to their needs. The purpose of this survey among university students at the University of Iceland was to explore their need for a special health service. Method: The online survey was administered to 9744 students at the university in the spring of 2011 who were registered e-mail recipients, both Icelandic and English-speaking. The questionnaire was developed by a working group which consisted of representatives from all the faculties at the School of Health Sciences. Data were analysed by descriptive statistical methods. Results: There were 1487 participants who responded, 1427 Icelandic and 60 English-speaking representing 15,2% of the university student population. The sample represents especially the attitudes of undergraduate and female students. Almost 40% of the Icelandic students and nearly 70% of the English-speaking students did not have a family practitioner in the capital area. The results showed that the great majority of respondents had needed health services in the year before the study took place. More than half of them reported that they had postponed seeking health services citing cost as the main reason. About 92% of the Icelandic students and all of the foreign students reported that they would attend a health clinic which was provided by university students under supervision. Both groups would like to have access to various health care services. Conclusions: The results indicate that university students who answered the questionnaire had a great need for special health clinic. Costs of service had mainly prevented them from seeking health care services. Additionally, the proportion of students without a family practitioner is high, especially among the foreign students, which is a further hindrance regarding access to primary health care services.Heilbrigðisvísindasvið Landspítal

„Það er fróðlegt og krefjandi að vinna í teymi“- Þverfræðilegt nám á heilbrigðisvísindasviði Háskóla Íslands: þriggja ára þróunarverkefni

To access publisher's full text version of this article, please click on the hyperlink in Additional Links field or click on the hyperlink at the top of the page marked Downloa

Pharmaceutical Care at the primary care clinic in Garðabær - number and type of drug therapy problems identified among elderly clients

To access publisher's full text version of this article, please click on the hyperlink in Additional Links field or click on the hyperlink at the top of the page marked FilesTilgangur: Öldruðum á Íslandi fer sífellt fjölgandi. Með hækkandi aldri aukast líkur á lyfjanotkun og þar með lyfjatengdum vandamálum. Lyfjafræðileg umsjá hefur verið að festast í sessi erlendis þar sem lyfjafræðingur starfar með öðru heilbrigðisstarfsfólki við að draga úr lyfjatengdum vandamálum einstaklinga. Markmið þessarar rannsóknar var að kanna fjölda og eðli lyfjatengdra vandamála hjá eldri einstaklingum í heilsugæslunni í Garðabæ, með aðferðum lyfjafræðilegrar umsjár í samvinnu við heimilislækna. Efniviður og aðferðir: Fimm heimilislæknar völdu sjúklinga, 65 ára og eldri, og vísuðu þeim til lyfjafræðings. Lyfjafræðingur veitti lyfjafræðilega umsjá eftir vel skilgreindri aðferð. Niðurstöður: Samtals 100 sjúklingar tóku þátt í rannsókninni, 44 karlar og 56 konur. Lyfjafræðingur gerði að meðaltali tvær athugasemdir um lyfjatengd vandamál. Algengasta lyfjatengda vandamálið var lág meðferðarheldni (30,1%), næst algengasta var aukaverkun (26,7%) og þriðja algengasta var óþörf lyfjameðferð (18,2%). Flestallar athugasemdirnar voru teknar til greina af læknunum (90,3%). Ályktun: Niðurstöður þessarar rannsóknar sýna að lyfjafræðingur sem veitir lyfjafræðilega umsjá gerir að jafnaði tvær athugasemdir við lyfjameðferð hvers sjúklings og í yfirgnæfandi meirihluta tilvika taka heimilislæknar þær til greina.Introduction: Elderly people are a rising population in Iceland. With higher age the likelihood of drug consumption increases and thus drug therapy problems. Pharmaceutical care has been established abroad, where the pharmacist works in collaboration with other healthcare professionals to reduce patients' drug therapy problems. The aim of this research was to study the number and types of drug therapy problems of older individuals in primary care in Garðabær, by providing pharmacist-led pharmaceutical care in collaboration with general practitioners. Methods: Five general practitioners selected patients, 65 years and older, and asked the pharmacist to provide them with pharmaceutical care service. The pharmacist provided pharmaceutical care using a well-defined process. Results: A total of 100 patients participated in the research, 44 men and 56 women. On average the pharmacist identified two drug therapy problems per patient. The most frequent drug therapy problem was related to noncompliance (30.1%), next was adverse drug reaction (26.7%) and the third was unnecessary drug therapy (18.2%). Almost all pharmacist comments were accepted by the general practitioners (90.3%). Conclusions: Our results reveal that a pharmacist providing pharmaceutical care makes, on average, two comments regarding each drug therapy. In almost all cases the general practitioners accept the comments.Kennslustyrkur Háskóla Íslands, Fræðslusjóður Lyfjafræðingafélagsins og Rannsóknarsjóður Háskóla Ísland

Factors affecting general practitioners’ choice of drug therapy: A study in primary healthcare in Iceland

To access publisher's full text version of this article, please click on the hyperlink in Additional Links field or click on the hyperlink at the top of the page marked DownloadINNGANGUR Markmið rannsóknarinnar var að kanna ýmis atriði sem geta haft áhrif á ákvarðanir lækna í heilsugæslu á Íslandi um lyfjameðferð. Jafnframt hvaða atriði kynnu að vera hindrun við ákvarðanatöku. Að lokum að greina hvaða þættir gætu frekar auðveldað ákvarðanatöku. EFNIVIÐUR OG AÐFERÐIR Sendur var rafrænn spurningalisti með tölvupósti til allra starfandi lækna í heilsugæslu á Íslandi. Spurningalistinn var samsettur úr lokuðum spurningum, opnum textaboxum og röðunarspurningum. Excel var notað við greiningu gagnanna. NIÐURSTÖÐUR Alls svöruðu 93 læknar spurningalistanum og var svarhlutfallið 40,7%. Niðurstöðurnar sýna að læknar telja að klínískar leiðbeiningar, upplýsingar í sérlyfjaskrá og eigin reynsla séu mikilvægastar við val á lyfjameðferð. Þá eru læknar mjög sammála um að skortur á milliverkanaforriti sem tengist sjúkraskrá sjúklings sé hamlandi þáttur við ákvarðanatöku. Þau atriði sem mikilvægast væri að laga til að styðja við ákvarðanir lækna eru innlendir lyfjalistar og milliverkanaforrit sem tengist sjúkraskrá sjúklings. ÁLYKTUN Niðurstöður benda á þætti sem gagnast læknum í heilsugæslu við ákvörðun um lyfjaval, svo sem lyfjalista, milliverkanaforrit, aðgengilegar upplýsingar um lyfjameðferð sjúklinga, mismunandi tímalengd viðtala, gagnreyndar upplýsingar um ný lyf, aðkomu klínískra lyfjafræðinga að starfi heilsugæslu.Introduction: This study aimed to analyse several factors that influence the decision-making of primary care physicians in Iceland in their choice of drug therapy for their patients. Also, to find which factors can act as a hindrance in making the best choices. Finally, to analyse which elements could be most important in facilitating decisions. Material and methods: A questionnaire was sent by e-mail to physicians working in primary care in Iceland. The questionnaire comprised closed questions, open text boxes, and ranking questions. The data was processed and analysed using Microsoft Excel. Results: The total number of primary care physicians who responded to the questionnaire was 93, a response rate of 40.7% of all the primary care physicians. The results reveal that physicians working in primary care consider clinical guidelines, the Icelandic National Formulary, and personal experience to be the most important factors when choosing a medication. Primary care physicians strongly agree that the lack of drug interaction software connected to medical records is a shortcoming. The most important factors that need improvement to facilitate primary care physicians' decision-making are drug formularies and interaction software. Conclusion: The results suggest some factors that support physicians in primary care in making decisions when choosing drug therapy, such as a drug formulary, drug interaction software, information about patients’ drug therapy, variable length in face-to-face consultations, evidence based information on new drugs, and counselling provided by clinical pharmacists

Encouraging rational antibiotic prescribing behaviour in primary care–prescribing practice among children aged 0–4 years 2016–2018 : an observational study

Publisher Copyright: © 2021 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.OBJECTIVE: To study antibiotic prescriptions among 0- to 4-year-old children before and after implementing a quality project on prudent prescribing of antibiotics in primary healthcare in the capital region of Iceland. DESIGN: An observational, descriptive, retrospective study using quantitative methodology. SETTING: Primary healthcare in the Reykjavik area with a total population of approximately 220,000. SUBJECTS: A total of 6420 children 0-4 years of age presenting at the primary healthcare centres in the metropolitan area over three years from 2016 to 2018. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Reduction of antibiotic prescriptions and change in antibiotic profile. Data on antibiotic prescriptions for children 0-4 years of age was obtained from the medical records. Out-of-hours prescriptions were not included in the database. RESULTS: The number of prescriptions during the study period ranged from 263.6 to 289.6 prescriptions/1000 inhabitants/year. A reduction of 9% in the total number of prescriptions between 2017-2018 was observed. More than half of all prescriptions were for otitis media, followed by pneumonia and skin infections. Amoxicillin accounted for over half of all prescriptions, increasing between 2016 and 2018 by 51.3%. During this period, the prescribing of co-amoxiclav and macrolides decreased by 52.3% and 40.7%, respectively. These changes were significant in all cases, p  < 0.0001. CONCLUSION: The results show an overall decrease in antibiotic prescribing concurrent with a change in the choice of antibiotics prescribed and in line with the recommendations presented in the prescribing guidelines implemented by the Primary Healthcare of the Capital Area, and consistent with the project's goals.Key pointsA substantial proportion of antibiotic prescribing can be considered inappropriate and the antibiotic prescription rate is highest in Iceland of the Nordic countries.After implementing guidance on the treatment of common infections together with feedback on antibiotic prescribing, a decrease in the total number of prescriptions accompanied by a shift in the antibiotic profile was observed.Peer reviewe

Exterior oblique view of Bovee House [6] [picture].

Part of the collection: Eric Milton Nicholls collection.; Condition: Yellowing and brittle on edges.; Title by captioner derived from Vernon inventory; "Bovee"--On front of image, top right in pencil.; Photograph probably taken by Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahony Griffin.; Also available in electronic version via the Internet at: http://nla.gov.au/nla.pic-vn3603884-s766; Purchased from Marie and Glynn Nicholls, 2006.; Vernon inventory, Pt. II/3 No.4