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Josip Car

Publications and source records attributed to Josip Car.

13 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Trends in the prescription and cost of diabetic medications and monitoring equipment in England 1991-2004.

BACKGROUND: To report the trend in prescriptions and cost of antidiabetic drugs and glucose monitoring equipment in England from 1991 to 2004. METHODS: We analysed data on all community antidiabetic drug prescriptions in England collated from the Prescription Cost Analysis system. RESULTS: The total number of diabetes prescriptions (medicines and monitoring) rose from 7,613,000 (1991) to 24,325,640 (2004) (>300% increase). Meanwhile, total costs increased by 650%. Insulins are the biggest contributor to cost followed by monitoring equipment and then oral medications. Three times as many items of oral tablets are prescribed than insulins. Metformin accounts for 40% of all diabetic drug dispensations but only 7% of the costs. More is spent on glitazones now than on either metformin or sulphonylureas. CONCLUSIONS: There has been a substantial increase in the cost of managing diabetes in the community. Costs are likely to continue to rise in the future, as the prevalence of diabetes increases and through more aggressive identification and management of patients with diabetes in the hope of reducing the even more costly complications. The cost implications of glucose monitoring merits further study.

Administration, Oral↗
PubMed2003

Acute low back pain.

Explore the source record for details and available documents.

Diagnosis, Differential↗
PubMed2003

Management of lower urinary tract infection in women by Slovene GPs.

BACKGROUND: Uncomplicated lower urinary tract infection (LUTI) is one of the most common infections treated in general practice. Although nationwide treatment guidelines for LUTI are increasingly available, most European countries, including Slovenia, have not yet set such guidelines. OBJECTIVES: Our aim was to describe Slovene GPs' management of uncomplicated LUTIs and to analyse doctor and surgery characteristics that influence this management. METHOD: A written case vignette accompanied by open-ended questions regarding doctors' decisions (i.e. investigations and laboratory tests ordered, treatment options, advising sick leave, advice for treatment and follow-up procedures) and questions about doctor and surgery characteristics was sent to a representative sample of Slovene GPs. RESULTS: The response rate was 129/171 (75.4%). There were large variations in management of LUTI: 17.8% of GPs ordered various additional laboratory tests; 57% of GPs prescribed trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole and 37% norfloxacin; 30% of GPs prescribed a drug for 10-14 days; and 53.5% of GPs put the patient on sick leave of 1-10 days duration. Doctors with heavier workloads and those who have to wait for laboratory results for >24 h ordered more additional investigations. CONCLUSIONS: Effective strategies for quality improvement are needed, together with practice guidelines. The influence of a heavier workload on management of LUTI and the impact of the accessibility of laboratory tests should be explored in future research.

Adult↗