Korean Prescribing Study Associated Continuity of Care With Fewer PIM Flags

A prescribing-screen association does not establish that continuity independently prevented drug injury.

What the source reports

The cross-sectional claims study included more than a million older outpatient prescription recipients. Diazepam was among commonly flagged medicines under the 2015 Beers criteria. Higher continuity of care was associated with fewer potentially inappropriate prescriptions or selected interaction flags.

Limits and uncertainty

The analysis classified prescribing rather than observed harm. Patient complexity and provider selection can influence both continuity and medication burden. The overall interaction count was largely driven by other drug combinations and should not be relabeled as benzodiazepine interactions.

Application to expert review

For a care review, examine which criterion flagged diazepam and whether relevant indication and dose information were available. Separate system-level coordination from the actual cause of a fall or confusion. The paper supports medication reconciliation questions, not an individualized causation conclusion.

Source and related reading

Source: Publication PMC8198936. Applications to expert review are interpretive analysis.