Table 8.
Comparison of independent prescribers and non-prescribers, by profession, on variables used in the cost analysis
| Professional group | Prescribing status | Number of medications required (Observation Q6) |
Number of tests requested / patient (Sample audit) |
Consultation time in minutes / patient (Observation Q1) |
Discussions with colleagues in minutes/ per patient (Observation Q9,10) | x | Patients receiving referral (not for tests) (Observation Q11) | Patients with planned follow up (Observation Q15) | Patients reporting verified unplanned consultations within 2 months (Patient questionnaire) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
PHYSIO- THERAPY |
Independent prescriber (IP) | N | 107 | 42 | 107 | 107 | N | 107 | 107 | 47 |
| Missing | 9 | 74 | 9 | 9 | Yes N | 32 | 54 (8 by phone) | 1 | ||
| N, % of zeros | 75, 70.1% | 32, 76.2% | 0 | 88, 82.2% | Yes % | 29.9% | 50.5% | 2.1% | ||
| Mean | 0.327 | 0.262 | 27.64 | 1.802 | ||||||
| SD | 0.546 | 0.497 | 14.10 | 5.585 | ||||||
| Median | 0 | 0 | 24 | 0 | ||||||
| IQR | 0 to 1 | 0 to 0.25 | 18 to 34 | 0 to 0 | ||||||
| Non prescriber (NP) | N | 115 | 44 | 115 | 115 | N | 115 | 115 | 46 | |
| Missing | 7 | 78 | 7 | 7 | Yes N | 34 | 51 (1 by phone) | 2 | ||
| N, % of zeros | 87, 75.7% | 33, 75.0% | 0 | 114, 99.1% | Yes % | 29.6% | 44.3% | 4.3% | ||
| Mean | 0.252 | 0.250 | 20.83 | 0~ | ||||||
| SD | 0.456 | 0.438 | 10.46 | 0~ | ||||||
| Median | 0 | 0 | 19 | 0 | ||||||
| IQR | 0 to 0 | 0 to 0.75 | 14 to 28 | 0 to 0 | ||||||
| Significant difference (p) | MWU 0.336 | MWU 0.949 | MWU < 0.0005 | MWU < 0.0005 | Chi Sq 0.956 | Chi Sq 0.361 | FE 0.617 | |||
| PODIATRY | Independent prescriber (IP) | N | 128 | 24 | 128 | 128 | N | 128 | 128 | 57 |
| Missing | 5 | 109 | 5 | 5 | Yes N | 17 | 110 (0 by phone) | 0 | ||
| N, % of zeros | 93, 72.7% | 17, 70.8% | 0 | 109, 85.2% | Yes % | 13.3% | 85.9% | 0% | ||
| Mean | 0.328 | 0.375 | 24.27 | 0.976 | ||||||
| SD | 0.616 | 0.647 | 24.32 | 2.682 | ||||||
| Median | 0 | 0 | 16 | 0 | ||||||
| IQR | 0 to 1 | 0 to 1 | 11 to 27.75 | 0 to 0 | ||||||
| Non prescriber (NP) | N | 124 | 32 | 123 | 124 | N | 124 | 124 | 47 | |
| Missing | 3 | 95 | 4 | 3 | Yes N | 6 | 111 (7 by phone) | 1 | ||
| N, % of zeros | 114, 91.9% | 32, 100% | 0 | 111, 89.5% | Yes % | 4.8% | 89.5% | 2.1% | ||
| Mean | 0.105 | 0 | 16.88 | 0.726 | ||||||
| SD | 0.379 | 0 | 9.86 | 2.867 | ||||||
| Median | 0 | 0 | 16 | 0 | ||||||
| IQR | 0 to 0 | 0 to 0 | 10 to 23 | 0 to 0 | ||||||
| Significant difference (p) | MWU 0.001 | MWU < 0.0005 | MWU 0.073 | MWU 0.349 | Chi Sq 0.20 | Chi Sq 0.387 | FE 0.452 | |||
Number of medications required = new medication + repeat medication (same dosage) + repeat medication (dosage changed)