Keywords: inappropriate prescribing, older people, primary care, screening tools, survey

Background:

Older people in primary care often have multiple morbidities and are consequently prescribed multiple medications, posing significant prescribing challenges. Although screening tools to detect potentially inappropriate prescribing have been developed to support prescribers in day-to-day practice, their use in primary care and integration into electronic medical record (EMR) systems have not been investigated.

Research questions:

To what extent are primary care physicians across European countries familiar with screening tools for potentially inappropriate prescribing, and to what extent are such tools integrated into EMR systems?

Method:

Since September 2025, primary care physicians across European countries have been invited by national collaborators to participate in an ongoing survey study. Responses collected until 31 December 2025 were analysed descriptively. The proportion of responses to questions on the physicians’ familiarity with tools to detect potentially inappropriate prescribing in older people and the integration of such tools into EMR systems were examined.

Results:

A total of 322 physicians from 26 countries were included (1‒46 per country, median age 46 years). In countries with ≥10 respondents (n=13), between 0% and 67% of physicians reported that they were not at all familiar with any screening tool for potentially inappropriate prescribing. The screening tool that physicians most often reported having some degree of familiarity with was the STOPP criteria (n=184, 57%).
In total, 266 (83%) physicians reported using an EMR system in their daily practice. In countries with ≥10 such respondents, between 26% and 100% reported that their system did not include any tool for detecting potentially inappropriate prescribing, while 0% to 33% reported having such a tool fully integrated.

Conclusions:

Familiarity with screening tools for detecting potentially inappropriate prescribing varies substantially across Europe. Although most physicians use an EMR system in their daily practice, only a minority have access to fully integrated tools.

Points for discussion:

How can awareness of screening tools for detecting potentially inappropriate prescribing be increased among primary care physicians across Europe?

How can European EMR systems ensure equitable access to screening tools for detecting potentially inappropriate prescribing in older people?