Background The Dutch general practitioners (GP) guideline for urinary tract infections (UTI) recommends patient-initiated treatment for women with recurring UTI. In countries other than the... Show moreBackground The Dutch general practitioners (GP) guideline for urinary tract infections (UTI) recommends patient-initiated treatment for women with recurring UTI. In countries other than the Netherlands, community pharmacists play a role in dispensing antibiotics for recurring UTI without preceding GP consultation. Objective To study GP and pharmacist opinions regarding the desirability of patient-initiated treatment, including potential pharmacist support for, and consequences of, facilitated access to antibiotics. Setting Dutch community pharmacies that cooperate with at least two GPs in their regional primary care network. Method Pharmacists in a postgraduate education program invited their residency pharmacist and 2-3 GPs to anonymously complete an online questionnaire. Questions related to diagnosis, treatment and potential role of the pharmacist. Answers were formulated as multiple-choice or ratings on a 5-point Likert scale. Data were analysed per professional group using descriptive statistics. Answers of pharmacists and GP to corresponding questions were analysed using a Chi-square test (p < 0.05). Main outcome measure Desirability of patient-initiated treatment and supporting role of the pharmacist. Results A total of 170 GPs and 76 pharmacists completed the questionnaires. Of the GPs, 35.1% supported patient-initiated treatment. Of the pharmacists, 69.7% were willing to dispense an antibiotic to a patient without preceding GP consultation after performing a probability check. In total, 65.7% of GPs and 44.7% of pharmacists thought that facilitated access to antibiotics would increase use of antibiotics (p < 0.05). Conclusion Support of GPs for facilitated access to antibiotic treatment by patient-initiated UTI treatment was limited, even with pharmacist support. The majority of pharmacists were willing to dispense an antibiotic after a probability check of an episode of recurring UTI, but both pharmacists and GPs were concerned about overuse of antibiotics. Show less
The aim of this thesis is to investigate the adoption of PGx and the integration of genotype guided dosing in the workflow of physicians and pharmacists in primary care. This thesis is divided into... Show moreThe aim of this thesis is to investigate the adoption of PGx and the integration of genotype guided dosing in the workflow of physicians and pharmacists in primary care. This thesis is divided into five parts. The first part provides an overview of answers to frequently asked questions by clinicians related to the implementation of PGx. The second part of this covers investigates whether genotype guided dosing in primary care is feasible in a pilot study where 200 patients with an incident prescription for a subset of 10 drugs and historical use are genotyped in a panel based approach for 8 pharmacogenes and received genotype guided dosing based on recommendations of the DPWG guidelines and covers an assessment of the clinical impact of PGx in primary care in the Netherlands is provided to predict how many patients that start with a drug currently described in the guidelines of the DPWG require an optimization of therapy. Part III covers the harmonization of PGx-test interpretation and therapeutic recommendations. Part IV investigates the knowledge, experience and attitudes towards PGx among (future) healthcare professionals. The thesis is concluded with a general discussion. Show less
