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Table 4 Dataset requirements for quantifying exemplar low-value prescribing practice examples

From: A methodological protocol for selecting and quantifying low-value prescribing practices in routinely collected data: an Australian case study

Indicator components Prescribing practice
1. Antibiotics in URTIs 2. Benzodiazepines in elderly 3. Long-term PPIs 4. Antipsychotics in dementia 5. Antibiotics in bacteriuria 6. NSAIDs in elderly 7. Testosterone 8. Primary prevention in limited life 9. Antipsychotic polypharmacy
Dispensing data
Patient demographicsa   X   X   X   X  
Initiation (date of dispensing) X X X X X X X X X
Discontinuationb    X       
Concomitant useb          X
Switchingb          
Comorbidityb     X     X  
Fact of death         X  
Prescribing data
Patient demographicsa   X     X    
Initiation X X X X X X X X X
Discontinuation    X       
Concomitant use          X
Switching          
Indication stated by prescriber X   X X X   X X  
Test ordering      X   X   
Comorbidities     X     X  
Hospitalisation data
Co-morbidity (ICD-10 code)     X    X X  
Pathology data
Test results      X   X   
Death data
Date of death         X  
Cancer data
Cancer diagnosis         X  
  1. Prescribing practices correspond with exemplar practices listed in Table 3. An ‘X’ marks where a component indicator corresponds to a component within a prescribing practice
  2. aIncludes age, gender, geographic location of residence
  3. bProxy measures (i.e. the result of decision rules applied to existing variables)
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