Health insurance - Warning against unnecessarily risky painkiller prescriptions
The Barmer health insurance company warns against prescribing supposedly harmless painkillers and calls for the use of digital assistants in doctors' surgeries to avoid potentially fatal consequences. According to the Barmer Drug Report 2023, around one in three women and one in four men in Hamburg were prescribed at least one painkiller per year on an outpatient basis in 2021. Extrapolated, this corresponds to a good 380,000 people in the city. For the report, the outpatient pain therapy of insured Barmer patients aged 18 and over without a tumor diagnosis was examined.
According to the report, around 6800 insured persons were prescribed so-called non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as ibuprofen or diclofenac despite heart failure, which could significantly worsen cardiac performance even if only taken for a short time. This can increase the number of hospital stays and the risk of death.
"The combination of supposedly harmless painkillers can have fatal consequences," said Susanne Klein, regional managing director of Barmer in Hamburg, to the German Press Agency. "The therapy, which is usually prescribed by several doctors, is hardly manageable without digital support." This could be remedied by the use of digitally supported therapy management, which would enable doctors to individually assess medication risks based on patient history.
The report only shows the pain medication prescribed by a doctor. However, drugs such as ibuprofen or diclofenac are also available over the counter. In these cases, doctors are usually unaware of what is being taken. "The risks of self-medication should not be underestimated, especially when it comes to painkillers," warned Klein.
According to the report, older people are particularly affected: While only around one in four insured people aged 18 to 64 were prescribed painkillers in 2021, this figure was just under one in two for the over-80s.
The report also highlights problems with the prescription of strong painkillers: in Hamburg, for example, an estimated 49,000 insured persons without a tumor disease were prescribed an opioid - such as morphine - in 2021. "Three out of ten of those affected did not receive a laxative at the same time, as prescribed by medical guidelines," said Klein. This increased the risk of intestinal obstruction fivefold. "Five out of 10,000 patients on opioid therapy have to go into hospital every year because of this complication. This could be avoided if laxatives were prescribed and taken as a precaution."
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- Despite heart failure, around 6800 women and men in Hamburg, including many women, were prescribed painkillers like ibuprofen or diclofenac in 2021, which could negatively impact heart performance even with short-term use.
- Susanne Klein, the regional managing director of Barmer in Hamburg, emphasized the need for digital support in managing medication, as the potential dangers from a combination of painkillers can be difficult to oversee in cases of multiple prescribers.
- Barmer's health insurance company advises caution when prescribing painkillers, and they emphasize the risks of self-medication with over-the-counter drugs such as ibuprofen or diclofenac, as doctors are often unaware of these medications due to patient self-administration.
- The Barmer Drug Report 2023 revealed that older individuals, particularly those over 80, are more likely to be prescribed painkillers than younger people, highlighting the need for targeted and careful consideration of medication in older populations.
Source: www.stern.de
