Table 4 Summary of non-Swiss studies reviewed
From: Chiropractors' attitudes toward drug prescription rights: a narrative review
First author, year of publication | Location | Survey method | Number of respondents and response rate (%) | Percentage in favour of prescription rights | Percentange opposed to prescription rights |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Jamison [20], 1991 | Australia | Postal | 339 respondents, 20% response rate | • 2% of respondents felt that prescription drugs should "frequently" be used in chiropractic practice, 31% indicated "sometimes," and 25% indicated these should be used "rarely" | • 42% of respondents felt that prescription drugs should "never" be used in chiropractic practice |
• Of those supportive of drugs, 84% favoured NSAIDs, 80% favoured analgesics, and 74% favoured muscle relaxants | • 13% indicated that they "never" advise acute patients to take analgesics | ||||
• 59% of all respondents indicated that they advise acute patients to take analgesics "always," "usually," or "sometimes," while an additional 28% do so at least "rarely" | • 27% indicated that they "never" suggest acute patients take NSAIDs (while the remaining 7% of respondents queried the meaning of the abbreviation `NSAIDs') | ||||
• 42% of all respondents indicated that they suggest acute patients take NSAIDs "always," "usually," or "sometimes," while an additional 24% do so at least "rarely" | • Of those supportive of drugs, 65% were opposed to chiropractors prescribing antibiotics, 71% to steroids, and 74% to anti-hypertensive prescription by chiropractors | ||||
Jacobson [21], 1999 | Oklahoma, USA | Postal | 304 respondents, 49% response rate | • 54% favoured prescription rights for chiropractors | • 28% of respondents "never" recommended OTC drugs to patients in their chiropractic practice |
• 13% of respondents "often" recommended OTC drugs to patients in their chiropractic practice, 26% did so "sometimes," and 33% recommended OTC drugs at least "seldomly" |  | ||||
Wilson [22], 2003 | United Kingdom | Postal | 816 respondents, 58% response rate | • 36% of respondents felt that chiropractors should be allowed to prescribe medications on a restricted basis (e.g. mild analgesics, NSAIDs, and muscle relaxants) | • Data not reported |
McDonald [23], 2004 | North America wide - random sample | Postal | 687 respondents, 63% response rate | • 54% favoured chiropractors writing OTC drug prescriptions | • 51% were opposed to chiropractors writing prescriptions for musculoskeletal medicines (e.g. muscle relaxants) |
• 89% were opposed to chiropractors writing prescriptions for any and all medicines, including controlled substances | |||||
Pollentier [24], 2007 | United Kingdom - random sample | Postal | 263 respondents, 54% response rate | • 28% of respondents felt it would be beneficial if chiropractors were allowed to prescribe medication on a restricted basis (e.g. mild analgesics, NSAIDs, and muscle relaxants) | • 59% felt that limited prescription rights would not be beneficial |