title: Harmonizing post-market surveillance of prescription drug misuse: a systematic review of observational studies using routinely collected data (2000-2013).
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Prescription drug misuse is a growing public health concern globally. Routinely collected data provide a valuable tool for quantifying prescription drug misuse.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To synthesize the global literature investigating prescription drug misuse utilizing routinely collected, person-level prescription/dispensing data to examine reported measures, documented extent of misuse and associated factors.
  
  
  METHODS
  The MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, MEDLINE In Process, Scopus citations and Google Scholar databases were searched for relevant articles published between 1 January 2000 and 31 July 2013. A total of 10,803 abstracts were screened and 281 full-text manuscripts were retrieved. Fifty-two peer-reviewed, English-language manuscripts met our inclusion criteria-an aim/method investigating prescription drug misuse in adults and a measure of misuse derived exclusively from prescription/dispensing data.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Four proxies of prescription drug misuse were commonly used across studies: number of prescribers, number of dispensing pharmacies, early refills and volume of drugs dispensed. Overall, 89 unique measures of misuse were identified across the 52 studies, reflecting the heterogeneity in how measures are constructed: single or composite; different thresholds, cohort definitions and time period of assessment. Consequently, it was not possible to make definitive comparisons about the extent (range reported 0.01-93.5 %), variations and factors associated with prescription drug misuse.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Routine data collections are relatively consistent across jurisdictions. Despite the heterogeneity of the current literature, our review identifies the capacity to develop universally accepted metrics of misuse applied to a core set of variables in prescription/dispensing claims. Our timely recommendations have the potential to unify the global research field and increase the capacity for routine surveillance of prescription drug misuse.
authors.affiliation: Pharmacoepidemiology and Pharmaceutical Policy Research Group, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Sydney, A15-Pharmacy and Bank Building, Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia, bianca.blanch@sydney.edu.au.
authors.forename: Bianca
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Blanch
authors.forename: Nicholas A
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Buckley
authors.forename: Leigh
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Mellish
authors.forename: Andrew H
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Dawson
authors.forename: Paul S
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: Haber
authors.forename: Sallie-Anne
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Pearson
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003625:Data Collection / Q000379:methods*; D014943:Global Health; D006801:Humans; D064887:Observational Studies as Topic; D063487:Prescription Drug Misuse / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D055553:Prescription Drugs / Q000008:administration & dosage; D011358:Product Surveillance, Postmarketing / Q000379:methods*; D011634:Public Health
chemical_list: D055553:Prescription Drugs