Prescription Rates, Polypharmacy and Prescriber Variability in Swiss General Practice-A Cross-Sectional Database Study.

ABSTRACT: Purpose: The frequency of medication prescribing and polypharmacy has increased in recent years in different settings, including Swiss general practice. We aimed to describe patient age- and sex-specific rates of polypharmacy and of prescriptions of the most frequent medication classes, and to explore practitioner variability in prescribing. Methods: Retrospective cross-sectional study based on anonymized electronic medical records data of 111 811 adult patients presenting to 116 Swiss general practitioners in 2019. We used mixed-effects regression analyses to assess the association of patient age and sex with polypharmacy (≥5 medications) and with the prescription of specific medication classes (second level of the Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical Classification System). Prac

SUBMITTER: Rachamin Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8884695 | biostudies-literature | 2022

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature