[Development of a system of quality indicators for primary care prescriptions].

OBJECTIVE

To identify and validate indicators to improve the assessment of prescribing by primary care paediatricians, incorporating the values and views of the professionals involved.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

Nominal group technique, validated through a Delphi survey.

PARTICIPANTS

Paediatricians and primary care pharmacists. A nominal group was formed with thirteen specialists. The question raised at the meeting was: "What indicators focusing on the drug and what indicators linked to diagnosis and treatment do you find most helpful in assessing the quality of prescription in paediatrics?", each panellist proposed indicators that were discussed and weighted on a scale from 1 to 9. The highest scored indicators were included in a two round Delphi survey, intended for all paediatricians and primary care pharmacists.

MEASUREMENTS

Validity of the indicator; Indicators with a median score equal to or greater than 7 were considered valid. Degree of consensus; it was considered that there was consensus if the interquartile range was not more than 3 points.

RESULTS

We generated 29 indicators focusing on the drug and 27 incorporating the diagnosis. Nineteen focusing on the drug and 13 incorporating the diagnosis were included in the survey. There was a high degree of agreement between the group and survey results.

CONCLUSIONS

A set of quality indicators for paediatric prescribing has been generated using this tecnique, with consensus of a representative group of stakeholders and validated by all of them.