Tidsskrift for den Norske lægeforening : tidsskrift for praktisk medicin, ny række
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Prescriptions must sometimes be changed or clarified before dispensing in order to provide a safe and professional service. The aims of this study were to gain insight into the types of prescription interventions performed by pharmacists, to explore the reason behind the interventions and to describe to which extent and how interventions are documented and communicated to the prescribers. ⋯ Pharmacists intervene on a range of prescription issues that are not communicated to the prescribers. Feedback requires time and resources for all involved. By ensuring that computer systems used by general practitioners comply with reimbursement legislation and technical requirements for prescriptions, the demand for many prescription interventions will be reduced. There is a need for a joint professional discussion on differentiation and standardisation of feedback on prescription interventions.
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Poisoning with paracetamol is common and potentially serious. We have assessed the incidence of paracetamol poisoning and the hospital's use of serum analyses to monitor the antidotal treatment N-acetyl cysteine. ⋯ Few patients needed treatment with antidote. The treatment seemed to protect all against liver damage if started early. Liver damage and death was associated with admission later than 15 hours after intake.
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Our aim was to investigate the extent, management and use of resources in patients admitted for acute abdominal pain. ⋯ Patients with acute abdominal pain is a heterogenous group that occupies a great deal of a surgical department's resources. It might be cost-effective to examine these patients in an observational unit supervised by well-trained surgeons.
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Tidsskr. Nor. Laegeforen. · Jun 2006
[Patient satisfaction with assessment of headache by specialist consultation].
Headache is a common cause for referral of patients from a general practitioner to a neurologist. We have investigated patient satisfaction with neurological consultations for headache in Northern Norway. ⋯ Almost half of the patients were not satisfied with the consultation. The degree of satisfaction varied between departments. More investigations are needed to clarify which patients with headache will benefit from a specialist consultation.