Perceptions of hospital pharmacists regarding roles in preventing and minimizing prescribing cascades: a mixed-method study

Introduction: A prescribing cascade occurs when new medications are prescribed to address an adverse drug reaction (ADR) associated with the preceding use of a medication, which may be mistaken as the onset of a novel disease or condition. The aim of this study was to evaluate the perceptions of ho...

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Main Authors: Mahnoor Asad, Waseem Ullah, Márió Gajdács, Melinda Madléna, Suresh Shanmugham, Sajesh K Veettil, Shazia Q Jamshed
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: The Journal of Infection in Developing Countries 2025-01-01
Series:Journal of Infection in Developing Countries
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Online Access:https://jidc.org/index.php/journal/article/view/19554
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author Mahnoor Asad
Waseem Ullah
Márió Gajdács
Melinda Madléna
Suresh Shanmugham
Sajesh K Veettil
Shazia Q Jamshed
author_facet Mahnoor Asad
Waseem Ullah
Márió Gajdács
Melinda Madléna
Suresh Shanmugham
Sajesh K Veettil
Shazia Q Jamshed
author_sort Mahnoor Asad
collection DOAJ
description Introduction: A prescribing cascade occurs when new medications are prescribed to address an adverse drug reaction (ADR) associated with the preceding use of a medication, which may be mistaken as the onset of a novel disease or condition. The aim of this study was to evaluate the perceptions of hospital pharmacists regarding roles in preventing and minimizing prescribing cascades. Methodology: A qualitative, semi-structured interview, followed by a quantitative, questionnaire-based study, was carried out at the Shifa International Hospital (SIH; Islamabad, Pakistan). Discharge summaries of patients aged ≥ 60 years were collected to assess the prevalence of polypharmacy at SIH. Results: Discharge summaries of n = 350 patients were collected; 60.2% (n = 211) had comorbid conditions, and the co-occurrence of diabetes and hypertension were the most common. 37.8% (n = 132) were taking 8 or more medications. Eight (n = 8) hospital pharmacists participated in the qualitative study, and 4 major themes were identified in their perceptions regarding prescribing cascades. Fifty-two (n = 52) pharmacists were recruited in the quantitative phase. 86.5% (n = 45) of the participants reported long standing illness/chronic conditions; 67.3% (n = 35) noted the presence of comorbidities as a high risk, while 90.3% (n = 47) noted multiple prescribers, and 75.0% (n = 39) identified the ageing population as important risks factors for polypharmacy. Conclusions: The current research may inform the role and responsibilities of hospital pharmacists in outpatient and inpatient departments, and in interprofessional care teams, in preventing and minimizing prescribing cascades.
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publisher The Journal of Infection in Developing Countries
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spelling doaj-art-9ef7a1560e944ceabb5cee7945821e782025-08-20T02:27:07ZengThe Journal of Infection in Developing CountriesJournal of Infection in Developing Countries1972-26802025-01-01190110.3855/jidc.19554Perceptions of hospital pharmacists regarding roles in preventing and minimizing prescribing cascades: a mixed-method studyMahnoor Asad0Waseem Ullah1Márió Gajdács2Melinda Madléna3Suresh Shanmugham4Sajesh K Veettil5Shazia Q Jamshed6Department of Pharmacy Practice, Shifa College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Shifa Tameer-e-Millat University, Islamabad, PakistanDepartment of Pharmacy Practice, Shifa College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Shifa Tameer-e-Millat University, Islamabad, PakistanDepartment of Oral Biology and Experimental Dental Research, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Szeged, Szeged, HungaryDepartment of Oral Biology and Experimental Dental Research, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Szeged, Szeged, HungarySchool of Pharmacy, International Medical University, Kuala Lumpur, MalaysiaSchool of Pharmacy, International Medical University, Kuala Lumpur, MalaysiaDepartment of Pharmacy Practice, Shifa College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Shifa Tameer-e-Millat University, Islamabad, Pakistan Introduction: A prescribing cascade occurs when new medications are prescribed to address an adverse drug reaction (ADR) associated with the preceding use of a medication, which may be mistaken as the onset of a novel disease or condition. The aim of this study was to evaluate the perceptions of hospital pharmacists regarding roles in preventing and minimizing prescribing cascades. Methodology: A qualitative, semi-structured interview, followed by a quantitative, questionnaire-based study, was carried out at the Shifa International Hospital (SIH; Islamabad, Pakistan). Discharge summaries of patients aged ≥ 60 years were collected to assess the prevalence of polypharmacy at SIH. Results: Discharge summaries of n = 350 patients were collected; 60.2% (n = 211) had comorbid conditions, and the co-occurrence of diabetes and hypertension were the most common. 37.8% (n = 132) were taking 8 or more medications. Eight (n = 8) hospital pharmacists participated in the qualitative study, and 4 major themes were identified in their perceptions regarding prescribing cascades. Fifty-two (n = 52) pharmacists were recruited in the quantitative phase. 86.5% (n = 45) of the participants reported long standing illness/chronic conditions; 67.3% (n = 35) noted the presence of comorbidities as a high risk, while 90.3% (n = 47) noted multiple prescribers, and 75.0% (n = 39) identified the ageing population as important risks factors for polypharmacy. Conclusions: The current research may inform the role and responsibilities of hospital pharmacists in outpatient and inpatient departments, and in interprofessional care teams, in preventing and minimizing prescribing cascades. https://jidc.org/index.php/journal/article/view/19554prescribing cascadepolypharmacyadverse drug reactionhospital pharmacistshealthcare professionalmixed-methods
spellingShingle Mahnoor Asad
Waseem Ullah
Márió Gajdács
Melinda Madléna
Suresh Shanmugham
Sajesh K Veettil
Shazia Q Jamshed
Perceptions of hospital pharmacists regarding roles in preventing and minimizing prescribing cascades: a mixed-method study
Journal of Infection in Developing Countries
prescribing cascade
polypharmacy
adverse drug reaction
hospital pharmacists
healthcare professional
mixed-methods
title Perceptions of hospital pharmacists regarding roles in preventing and minimizing prescribing cascades: a mixed-method study
title_full Perceptions of hospital pharmacists regarding roles in preventing and minimizing prescribing cascades: a mixed-method study
title_fullStr Perceptions of hospital pharmacists regarding roles in preventing and minimizing prescribing cascades: a mixed-method study
title_full_unstemmed Perceptions of hospital pharmacists regarding roles in preventing and minimizing prescribing cascades: a mixed-method study
title_short Perceptions of hospital pharmacists regarding roles in preventing and minimizing prescribing cascades: a mixed-method study
title_sort perceptions of hospital pharmacists regarding roles in preventing and minimizing prescribing cascades a mixed method study
topic prescribing cascade
polypharmacy
adverse drug reaction
hospital pharmacists
healthcare professional
mixed-methods
url https://jidc.org/index.php/journal/article/view/19554
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