3.8 Strengths and Limitations
The strength of this study resides within the premise that it seeks to
understand the mindset, in the real world, of both doctors and
pharmacists, with varying levels of experience, associated with
prescribing decisions on the AMU. The choice of an acute medical unit as
the prescribing forum was advantageous because an admission to hospital
presents an opportunity to review medication with potential to influence
future prescribing decisions by the GP in the community. However, the
study has a number of limitations including the fact that it was carried
out at a single site, with a series of common presentations which may
not, therefore, be representative of all prescribing situations, or of
all AMUs throughout the UK. The focus group was conducted
retrospectively, at least one day after the actual decisions had been
made and therefore did not represent ‘real-time’ thought processes at
the moment of prescribing or the thoughts of the actual prescriber.
Further research is needed that would ideally reflect the individual
thought processes of prescribers and advisors prospectively at the time
decisions are made and in samples of patients with a wider variety of
diagnoses and in different acute hospital settings.