ABSTRACT
Objectives: The Ghent Older People’s Prescriptions community Pharmacy Screening (GheOP3S-) tool was recently developed as an explicit screening method to detect Potentially Inappropriate Prescribing (PIP) in the community pharmacy. We aimed to validate the GheOP3S-tool as an effective screening method for PIP.Methods: All patients admitted to the acute geriatric ward of the Sint-Vincentius hospital (Belgium) were consecutively screened for inclusion (≥70 years,≥5 drugs chronically). PIP prevalence was evaluated by applying the GheOP3S-tool on the complete medication history. For each PIP-item, clinical relevance of the detected item, relevance of proposed alternative and subsequent acceptance by the treating geriatrician and a general practitioner were evaluated. Additionally, contribution to the current admission and preventability was assessed by the geriatrician. The completeness of a PIP-screening with the GheOP3S-tool was evaluated through comparison with the adapted Medication Appropriateness Index (aMAI).Results: We detected 250 GheOP3S-items in 57 of 60 included patients (95%) (median: four PIP-items per patient; IQR: 3–5). Both the geriatrician and the general practitioners scored the clinical relevance of the detected items ‘serious’ or ‘significant’ in over 70% of cases. Proposed alternative treatment plans were accepted for 79% of the PIP-items (n = 198). The aMAI detected 536 items, of which 145 were also detected by the GheOP3S-tool. A total of 119 PIP-items were additionally detected by the GheOP3S-tool.Conclusion: The clinical relevance of the PIP-items detected with the GheOP3S-tool is high, likewise the acceptance rate of proposed alternatives.
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Conflicts of interest
The authors certify that they have NO affiliations with or involvement in any organization or entity with any financial interest, or non-financial interest in the subject matter or materials discussed in this manuscript.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
Author Contributions
CK en ET conceptualized and designed the study, carried out the statistical analyses and interpretation of data, drafted the initial manuscript, and approved the final manuscript as submitted. EVL retrospectively evaluated the severity of the detected PIP-items and approved the final manuscript as submitted. KB and MP critically reviewed the manuscript and approved the final version as submitted. AS analyzed and interpreted the data, critically reviewed the manuscript, and approved the final manuscript as submitted.
Supplementary material
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