Better care and better outcomes: the continuing challenge

Article Abstract:

Evidence-based medicine can be used to improve the quality of medical care. However, it is often a challenge to convince physicians to change the way they manage a particular disease. Two 1998 studies evaluated two different ways of facilitating change. One found that government guidelines for the treatment of Medicare patients were successful in changing the treatment of elderly heart attack patients. The second found that the treatment of these patients could be improved by identifying opinion leaders in each hospital and convincing them to work for local change.

Medical care, Quality management, Medical care quality, Heart attack, Aged patients, Elderly patients

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The complex world of prescribing behavior

Article Abstract:

Doctors often respond to reports of medical research by changing their prescribing habits. This occurred at least twice in the 21st century: when hormone replacement therapy for menopause and alpha blockers for high blood pressure were shown to be possibly more harmful than beneficial. In both cases, the number of prescriptions for these treatments decreased significantly once the results were publicized. On the other hand, many useful older drugs are not heavily promoted because they are no longer under patent and are therefore no longer profitable.

Labor Distribution by Employer, Alpha Blockers, Complications and side effects, Statistics, Prescription writing, Hormone therapy, Adrenergic alpha blockers, Adrenergic alpha-antagonists, Hormone replacement therapy

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Clinical decision support and appropriateness of antimicrobial prescribing

Article Abstract:

A study is conducted to measure the added value of clinical decision support systems (CDSS) when coupled with a community intervention to reduce inappropriate prescribing of antimicrobial drugs for acute respiratory tract infections. CDSS implemented in rural primary care settings reduced overall antimicrobial use and improved appropriateness of antimicrobial selection for acute respiratory tract infections.

Product development, Antiinfective Preparations, Usage, Diagnosis, Anti-infective agents, Respiratory tract infections

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