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. 2018 Jul 3;68(673):e541–e550. doi: 10.3399/bjgp18X697925

Table 2.

Logistic regression of factors associated with referral from pharmacy to general practice for 131 419 patients

n (%) Referred n (%) Adjusted OR (95% CI)
Outcome variable

Referrals from pharmacy to general practice 5895 (4.5)

Predictor variables

Patient-reported factors
  Side effects 24 992 (19.0) 4155 (16.6) 11.60 (10.85 to 12.41)
  Not using the medicine as prescribed 5271 (4.0) 2236 (42.4) 5.83 (5.23 to 6.52)
  Negative feelings towards new BP medication 5038 (3.8) 1292 (25.6) 3.29 (3.01 to 3.60)
  Uncertainty whether medicine working 8344 (6) 555 (6.7) 1.50 (1.35 to 1.68)
  Not yet started the medication 823 (0.6) 230 (27.9) 1.23 (1.02 to 1.50)
  Concerns with remembering to take medication 965 (0.7) 60 (6.2) 0.91 (0.68 to 1.24)
  Difficulty with medication formulation 149 (0.1) 13 (8.7) 0.81 (0.41 to 1.60)
  Prescriber stopping the medication 777 (0.6) 313 (40.3) 0.75 (0.62 to 0.91)
  More information about medication needed 7276 (5.5) 301 (4.1) 0.45 (0.39 to 0.52)
  Missed dose in the past 7 days 1166 (0.9) 415 (35.6) 0.42 (0.36 to 0.50)
  Using medicine as prescribed 107 989 (82.2) 2354 (2.2) 0.20 (0.18 to 0.21)

Demographic factors

Age, years (<40 years as reference)
  40–49 12 987 (9.9) 463 (3.6) 0.77 (0.63 to 0.93)
  50–59 23 451 (17.8) 951 (4.1) 0.89 (0.75 to 1.06)
  60–69 37 312 (28.4) 1548 (4.1) 0.87 (0.74 to 1.03)
  70–79 34 895 (26.6) 1680 (4.8) 0.93 (0.78 to 1.10)
  ≥ 80 17 975 (13.8) 1045 (5.8) 1.05 (0.88 to 1.25)

Ethnicity (white as reference)
  South Asian 4586 (3.5) 227 (4.9) 1.14 (0.97 to 1.35)
  Other 1645 (1.3) 91 (5.5) 1.25 (0.97 to 1.62)
  Not stated 10 234 (7.8) 476 (4.7) 1.12 (1.00 to 1.26)
  Black/African-Caribbean 2760 (2.1) 127 (4.6) 0.94 (0.75 to 1.17)

Sex, male (female as reference) 61 146 (46.5) 2172 (3.6) 0.85 (0.80 to 0.91)

Medication-related factors (CCB as reference)
  Alpha-blocker 5264 (4.0) 411 (7.8) 1.28 (1.12 to 1.47)
  Beta-blocker 16 211 (12.3) 777 (4.8) 1.10 (0.99 to 1.21)
  Thiazide 15 487 (11.8) 800 (5.2) 1.02 (0.92 to 1.13)
  ACEi 34 497 (26.2) 1312 (3.8) 0.94 (0.86 to 1.02)
  ARB 17 415 (13.3) 622 (3.6) 0.89 (0.80 to 0.99)
  Other 1173 (0.9) 53 (4.5) 0.77 (0.56 to 1.06)

ACEi = angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor. ARB = angiotensin II receptor blocker. BP = blood pressure. CCB = calcium channel blocker. OR = odds ratio.