Rev Epidemiol Sante
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Rev Epidemiol Sante · Oct 2011
[Increasing trends in screening for addictives behaviors among general practitioners in France].
Make an inventory of screening of addictive behaviours among general practice since the end of the 1990s. ⋯ This study illustrates the development of addiction care practices integrating smoking cessation help and, to a more limited extent, screening of alcohol and cannabis abuse, evidenced by the expanded application of standardized questionnaires in general practice. Consideration given to cannabis and alcohol use assessment appeared correlated to GPs feeling at ease with addressing drug use issues, this feeling being linked to their ability to rely on institutional directives or validated screening tools. It seems thus important to encourage the implementation of a health educational approach including early screening and brief intervention during consultation.
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Rev Epidemiol Sante · Aug 2011
[Medical opinion leaders conflict of interests: effects of disclosures on the trust of the public and general practitioners].
Key medical opinion leaders influence the behaviors of physicians and patients. By law, they have to disclose their interests with pharmaceutical companies when they communicate in the media. Up to now, it appears that no study has explored the effect of opinion leaders' disclosures despite their potential impact on public health and economy. The study objective was to assess the effects of opinion leaders' disclosures of interest on the public and general practitioners' trust in opinion leader by comparison with the overall medical community. ⋯ These study results refute the assertion that public trust would be reduced by the disclosure of interests. They reinforce the importance of the "who judges who" and "which kind of disclosure impacts who ?" effects and draw attention to further research on the role of social interactions in both mass and group communications.
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Rev Epidemiol Sante · Jun 2011
[Organ donation: point of view of private practice physicians in the region Nord-Pas de Calais in France].
In 2008, in France, 222 patients died because they did not receive the graft they expected. The main objective of this study was to determine the attitude of private practice physicians concerning organ donation. ⋯ Almost 90% of private physicians who responded to the survey were in favor of organ donation but only 34.5% delivered information and discussed the issue with their patients. The physicians coped with the topics more easily when they had experienced cases and when they were informed about existing regulations. A specific educational program on the current regulations and how to interact with patients on this subject during a visit could be a first answer to the problem and would be welcomed by practitioners.
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Rev Epidemiol Sante · Apr 2011
Comparative StudyFeedback and lessons from the prescription of rimonabant, a drug to be used under strict guidelines, in southeastern France, March 2007 through June 2008.
To provide feedback on the initial market authorization of rimonabant, a drug to be used under strict guidelines, we conducted a study with information from the National health insurance reimbursements database for southeastern France. The aims of this study were to: (1) describe the characteristics of subjects who have had one rimonabant prescription reimbursed; (2) study the frequency of prescriptions that did not comply with reimbursement criteria; (3) study the frequency of prescriptions for patients simultaneously treated with antidepressants; and (4) analyse the factors associated with both types of prescription (patient and prescriber characteristics). ⋯ Despite the specific status of rimonabant regarding its reimbursement modalities, these results suggest that some prescribers get around reimbursement instructions and that a significant percentage of prescriptions did not respect an important contraindication. Tools to follow up the prescriptions of new drugs with strict guidelines for use should be developed and physicians should be better informed and trained regarding specific prescription regulations.