For all residents, the computerized drug dispensing histories contain data concerning the dispensed drug, prescriber specialty, dispensing date, dispensed amount, prescribed dose regimens, and the legend duration of use (prescription length).
For prescribed drugs, the register includes data on dispensed item, substance, brand name, formulation, package size, dispensed amount, dosage, expenditure, and reimbursement.
The computerised medication-dispensing histories contain data regarding dispensed medications, type of prescriber, dispensing date, dispensed amount of medication, prescribed dosage and length of prescription.
The register contains data on drugs (the prescribed and dispensed amount per item and drug costs per individual).
All accuracy error subtypes except dispensed amount showed a decrease or no change in error rates using FormularyScript, but only the decrease in which eye subtype reached statistical significance (0.5%0.1%%, p<0.001).
Key findings from this analysis were statistically significant (p<0.001) decreases in all legibility, incomplete and abbreviation error subtypes, except for legibility route, and incomplete which eye and dispensed amount.
As a limitation of these analyses, community (i.e., retail pharmacy) dispensing accounts only for a part (yet the large majority) of POA dispensing in Canada; in addition, dispensing amounts do not necessarily equate consumption data yet are a best available and closest measurable proxy indicator of POA consumption.
It is worthy to note that the authors suggested a dose-response relationship: adjusted odds ratio for patients dispensed total amount 14 - 672 g of metformin was 0.83 (0.65 to 1.06), dispensed 673 - 964 g of metformin - 0.86 (0.68 to 1.10) and dispensed more than 964 g - 0.57 (0.43 to 0.75).
In terms of drugs consumption, the following were identified: number of prescriptions billed, number of package units dispensed, total cost of medications dispensed and the amount financed by the Catalan Health Service (the total cost of medications dispensed minus the out-of-pocket amount paid by the patients).
However, the pharmacy records are verified for accuracy and completeness of the data, which includes the NDC of the drug, the date the prescription is filled and/or refilled, the quantity dispensed, the amount paid by the patient, the amount paid by any third-party payers, and the type of third-party payer during any calendar year.
