GPs who work long hours prescribe up to 5 times more opioids and antibiotics, research shows
GPs who work long hours prescribe up to five times more opioids and antibiotics, a study shows.
Those who experienced signs of burnout, such as emotional exhaustion, feeling detached from colleagues and patients, and lower job satisfaction, were more likely to overprescribe medications.
This was particularly the case in more deprived areas, according to the government-backed study.
Researchers at the University of Manchester analyzed UK data from 13,483 patients taking strong opioids and 26,744 patients taking antibiotics between December 2019 and April 2020.
This was linked to the burnout scores of 320 GPs in 57 practices surveyed over the same four-month period.
Those who experienced signs of burnout, such as emotional exhaustion, feeling detached from colleagues and patients, and less job satisfaction, were more likely to overprescribe medications (stock image)
They found that there was a stronger association among GPs in more deprived areas in the north of England, with the risk being two and 1.6 times greater for more potent opioids and antibiotics, respectively.
Increased emotional exhaustion carried a 20 percent greater risk of overprescribing both types of drugs.
Meanwhile, those with low job satisfaction were 30 and 10 percent more likely to dispense potentially addictive opioids and antibiotics, respectively.
Dr. Alexander Hodkinson, of the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) at the University of Manchester, said this was the first study to examine the association of prescription of strong opioids and antibiotics with GP burnout as a practice-level problem. judge.
“Over a four-month period, we found more prescriptions of strong opioids and antibiotics among GPs who experienced more feelings of burnout,” he said.
‘Strong opioids and overuse of antibiotics can harm patients in the long run. That’s why it’s important to avoid over-prescribing them.
‘Our findings suggest that a possible way to prevent over-prescribing could encourage practices to look after the well-being of their GPs.’ They found that those planning to quit the job were 30 percent more likely to over-prescribe opioids — such as the painkiller codeine — and 40 percent more likely to over-prescribe antibiotics.
Feeling detached was associated with a 10 percent greater risk of being prescribed stronger opioids and 20 percent more antibiotics, according to findings published in the British Journal of General Practice.
Overuse of antibiotics for trivial infections means they become less effective against serious infections, meaning people die from previously treatable infections because the bacteria behind them have become resistant to treatment.
Details of the study come a month after the NHS unveiled new guidelines designed to support GPs and pharmacists in reducing opioid prescriptions by giving patients regular personalized reviews of their medicines.
The Mail has been campaigning for greater recognition of the prescription addiction crisis since March 2017.