title: Educational interventions to improve prescribing competency: a systematic review.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To review the literature on educational interventions to improve prescribing and identify educational methods that improve prescribing competency in both medical and non-medical prescribers.
  
  
  METHODS
  A systematic review was conducted. The databases Medline, International Pharmaceutical Abstracts (IPA), EMBASE and CINAHL were searched for articles in English published between January 1990 and July 2013.
  
  
  METHODS
  Primary and secondary care.
  
  
  METHODS
  Medical and non-medical prescribers.
  
  
  METHODS
  Education-based interventions to aid improvement in prescribing competency.
  
  
  METHODS
  Improvements in prescribing competency (knows how) or performance (shows how) as defined by Miller's competency model. This was primarily demonstrated through prescribing examinations, changes in prescribing habits or adherence to guidelines.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 47 studies met the inclusion criteria and were included in the systematic review. Studies were categorised by their method of assessment, with 20 studies assessing prescribing competence and 27 assessing prescribing performance. A wide variety of educational interventions were employed, with different outcome measures and methods of assessments. In particular, six studies demonstrated that specific prescribing training using the WHO Guide to Good Prescribing increased prescribing competency in a wide variety of settings. Continuing medical education in the form of academic detailing and personalised prescriber feedback also yielded positive results. Only four studies evaluated educational interventions targeted at non-medical prescribers, highlighting that further research is needed in this area.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A broad range of educational interventions have been conducted to improve prescribing competency. The WHO Guide to Good Prescribing has the largest body of evidence to support its use and is a promising model for the design of targeted prescribing courses. There is a need for further development and evaluation of educational methods for non-medical prescribers.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Pharmacy, World Hospital Pharmacy Research Consortium, The University of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
authors.forename: Gritta
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Kamarudin
authors.forename: Jonathan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Penm
authors.forename: Betty
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Chaar
authors.forename: Rebekah
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Moles
keywords: EDUCATION & TRAINING (see Medical Education & Training); MEDICAL EDUCATION & TRAINING; THERAPEUTICS