Skip Navigation


Family Practice Advance Access originally published online on October 11, 2006
Family Practice 2006 23(6):659-665; doi:10.1093/fampra/cml048
This Article
Right arrow Full Text Freely available
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF) Freely available
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
23/6/659    most recent
cml048v1
Right arrow E-letters: Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when E-letters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Klein, D
Right arrow Articles by Cave, A
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Klein, D
Right arrow Articles by Cave, A
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

© The Author (2006). Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

A qualitative study to identify factors influencing COXIB prescribed by family physicians for musculoskeletal disorders

D Klein, A MacDonald, N Drummond and A Cave

Continuous Professional Learning, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, 2J3 Walter Mackenzie Centre Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2R7 Canada

Correspondence to Douglas Klein, Continuous Professional Learning, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, 2J3 Walter Mackenzie Centre Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2R7, Canada; Email: doug.klein{at}ualberta.ca

Introduction. Cyclo-oxygenase-2 inhibiting (COXIB) anti-inflammatories have been the drug class prescribed for a large number of cases of musculoskeletal (MSK) disorders in Canada over the past 5 years. The Alberta Improvements for MSK Disorders (AIMS) initiative sought to better understand the COXIB prescribing situation by funding several studies. The objective of this qualitative study was to determine the factors underlying primary care physicians' medication prescribing behaviour during an office visit for an MSK disorder, with particular emphasis on the prescribing of COXIBs.

Methods. The target respondents were Alberta primary care physicians chosen from a stratified random sample to meet a wide range of characteristics. Individual, semi-structured interviews were used to assess decision pathways in four real cases chosen by the physician. A total of 19 interviews were conducted and analysed using an analytic inductive approach.

Results. Factors judged as being important to decision pathways in relation to COXIB prescribing for MSK disease included safety, patient characteristics, affordability to patients, availability of samples, drug company marketing practices, habit formation, time contstraints, previous clinical experience of doctors and/or patient with certain drugs and doctors' perception of absolute versus relative risk.

Interpretation. Most physicians preferentially prescribed COXIBs subsequent to a complicated, multifactorial, but essentially patient-centred, decision-making process.

Keywords. Musculoskeletal disorders, cyclo-oxygenase-2 inhibiting anti-inflammatories, prescribing.


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?




Disclaimer:
Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.