Where physicians look for information on drug prescribing for children

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Despite the important role of drug therapy in children, there is often a lack of readily available information regarding the indications and dosing regimens for medications in paediatrics. OBJECTIVE: To collect data on where family physicians obtain this prescribing information. METHOD: A structured questionnaire was mailed to 500 family physicians in Ontario. RESULTS: Questionnaires were returned by 261 (52%) family physicians, 217 (83%) of whom identified themselves as currently involved in the care of children. Most (87%) reported that the Compendium of Pharmaceuticals and Specialties (CPS) was the source that they most commonly consulted for drug information in children. The available sources of information on prescribing for children were thought to be not adequate by 40% and not readily available by 27%. Sixty-one per cent reported being moderately confident (in doubt part of the time) about their decisions regarding drug prescribing in this age group. The majority (70%) had learned most of what they know about prescribing in paediatrics during practice, while 69% and 62% reported they had little or no teaching during undergraduate and postgraduate (internship or residency) medical education, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Although it is recognized that for a number of drugs used in children the CPS does not reflect the current standard of care in paediatrics, it is currently the source most commonly referred to by family physicians. Further work should be done in the provision of useful information on paediatric drug therapy to family physicians.

Primary Care Practitioners’ Uptake of a Secondary Care-Based Medicines Information Service in the United Kingdom

“…The total response rate to this survey was good (67%) and is comparable to response rates obtained for other medicines information-related studies (4,5,6,11). The response rate for nurses was slightly higher, with the highest response received from practice nurses.…”

A literature review on off-label drug use in children

“…A study [73] found that the official information for paediatric anti-cancer drug therapies was scarce, despite the availability of clinical and pharmacological studies in the literature. The problem behind the large extent of off-label and unlicensed use is therefore also due to a lack of harmonisation between the evidence and drug licenses [26,45]. Formularies remain an important source of prescribing information for physicians because they attempt to fill this knowledge gap.…”

Italian paediatricians and off‐label prescriptions: Loyal to regulatory or guideline standards?

“…Evaluating off‐label drug use is therefore important, but different from evaluating prescribing rationality. The problem of off‐label and unlicensed drug use exists because of different reasons: an inadequate drug evaluation and registration process, a lack of documented evidence on therapies, and a lack of harmonization between the evidence and the official information available to doctors (Summary of Product Characteristics) 27. Concerning the latter, for example, one study evaluated the licence status of anticancer drugs 20 and found that the official information for paediatric anticancer drug therapies was scarce, despite the availability of clinical and pharmacological studies in the literature.…”