Abstract
In response to recent evidence about the safety of calcium channel blockers, Group Health Cooperative of Puget Sound (GHC), a large health maintenance organization, implemented a plan in April 1996 to reevaluate the medications of 1349 patients who were taking short-acting nifedipine. Following the intervention, 79.8% of patients taking short-acting nifedipine discontinued use, and 45.6% switched to once-daily felodipine. By presenting physicians and patients with recent evidence about the safety of short- acting nifedipine, a large health maintenance organization was able to motivate broad-scale changes to safer alternative drug therapies.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 471-477 |
Number of pages | 7 |
Journal | American journal of hypertension |
Volume | 11 |
Issue number | 4 I |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Apr 1998 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Calcium channel blockers
- Drug safety
- Formulary
- Health maintenance organization
- Hypertension
- Nifedipine
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Internal Medicine