A prescribing rate depends on its denominator and recording system.
An Australian general-practice cohort described declining benzodiazepine prescriptions per thousand consultations alongside increasing use of some other insomnia medicines. Repeated prescriptions and specific agents contributed differently to the trend.
Consultations are not unique people, and prescription issuance differs from dispensing or ingestion. Indications were not consistently linked to each medicine, limiting classification of insomnia treatment.
Report the year, unit and included drugs when comparing trends. Do not convert a consultation-based rate into a patient prevalence or assume a prescription change proves safer care. In an individual case, establish the actual indication, supply and use rather than inferring exposure from a population prescribing pattern.
Source: PMC8366783, supplied full-text paper. Findings are paraphrased; forensic implications are an interpretation.
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