WHO guide to good prescribing is 25\xa0years old: quo vadis?

J Tichelaar,S Garner,H Hogerzeil,M C Richir,Th P G M De Vries

doi:10.1007/s00228-019-02823-w

Abstract

IntroductionTwenty-five years ago, the World Health Organization (WHO) published the Guide to Good Prescribing (GGP), followed by the accompanying Teacher’s Guide to Good Prescribing (TGGP). The GGP is based on a normative 6-step model for therapeutic reasoning and prescribing, and provides a six-step guide for students to the process of rational prescribing.MethodWe reviewed the need to update both WHO publications by evaluating their use and impact, including new (theoretical) insights and demands. Based on information from literature, Internet, and other (personal) sources, we draw the following conclusions.Results1. An update of the GGP and TGGP, both in terms of content and form, is necessary because of the current need for these tools (irrational medicine use and unavailability of medicines), the lack of similar documents, and the lack of connection with recent developments, such as Internet and modern education; 2. The basic (6-step) model of the GGP is effective in terms of rational prescribing in the undergraduate situation and is still consistent with current theories about (context) learning, clinical decision-making, and clinical practice; 3. The dissemination and introduction of the GGP and TGGP in education has been successful so far, but is still not optimal because of lack of support and cooperation.ConclusionsOn the basis of the evaluation results, a plan for the revision of the GGP and TGGP is presented.

Highlights

Twenty-five years ago, the World Health Organization (WHO) published the Guide to Good Prescribing (GGP), followed by the accompanying Teacher’s Guide to Good Prescribing (TGGP)
Since its publication in 1994, more than 100 original articles have referred to the GGP in a wide range of medical journals, ranging from geriatrics, primary health care, internal medicine, psychiatry, education to pharmacology and pharmacy
In the realization that the publication of the GGP would not be effective in just spreading the word about rational prescribing, the WHO started to support problem-based pharmacotherapy training courses for teachers

Summary

Introduction

Twenty-five years ago, the World Health Organization (WHO) published the Guide to Good Prescribing (GGP), followed by the accompanying Teacher’s Guide to Good Prescribing (TGGP). The GGP is based on a 6-step model for rational prescribing (Table 1) and is primarily intended for undergraduate students and their teachers. Since its publication in 1994, more than 100 original articles have referred to the GGP in a wide range of medical journals, ranging from geriatrics, primary health care, internal medicine, psychiatry, education to (clinical) pharmacology and pharmacy.

Results

Conclusion