BACKGROUND: The use of potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs) is a major concern for medication safety as it may entail more harm than potential benefits for older adults. This study aimed to explore the prescribing rate, healthcare utilization, and expenditure of older adults using PIMs in China. METHODS: A cross-sectional analysis was conducted using a national representative database of all medical insurance beneficiaries across China, extracting ambulatory visit records of adults aged 65 years and above between 2015 and 2017. Descriptive analysis was conducted to measure the rate of patients exposed to PIM, prescribing rate of each PIM, average annual outpatient visits per patient, average total medication costs for each visit, average annual cost of PIMs for each patient, and average annual medication costs for each patient. Generalized linear model with logit link function and binomial distribution was used to examine the adjusted associations between PIMs and independent variables. RESULTS: In total, 845,278 (33.2%) participants were identified to be exposed to at least one PIM. Patients aged 75-84 years (38.1%, 969,809/2,545,430) and ≥85 years (37.9%, 964,718/2,545,430) were more likely to be prescribed with PIMs. Beneficiaries of the Urban Employee Basic Medical Insurance (UEBMI) and living in eastern and southern regions were more frequently prescribed with PIMs. Compared with patients without PIM exposure (7.5 visits, drug cost of RMB 1545.0 Yuan), patients with PIM exposure showed higher adjusted average annual number of outpatient visits (10.7 visits, β = 3.228, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 3.196-3.261) and higher annual drug costs (RMB 2461.8 Yuan, Coef. = 916.864, 95% CI = RMB 906.292-927.436 Yuan). CONCLUSIONS The results showed that the use of PIM among older adults was common in China. This study suggests that the use of PIM could be considered as a clear target, pending multidimensional efforts, to promote rational prescribing for older adults.
Humans ; Aged ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Aged, 80 and over ; Male ; Female ; China ; Inappropriate Prescribing/economics* ; Patient Acceptance of Health Care/statistics & numerical data* ; Potentially Inappropriate Medication List/statistics & numerical data* ; Health Expenditures/statistics & numerical data*

OBJECTIVE To provide a reference for the improvement of the clinical pharmacy undergraduate internship education in China. METHODS The status of clinical pharmacy undergraduate internship education in China was briefly summarized， and suggestions on its future development based on advanced methods of domestic and abroad were provided. RESULTS & CONCLUSIONS In China， undergraduate students of clinical pharmacy were required to undergo hospital internships for no less than 42 weeks. The internship took place in both pharmacy and clinical departments in hospitals. Students’ performance was usually assessed at the end of the internship. The mainstream teaching patterns included on-site teaching， simulation teaching， case-based discussion teaching， medical and pharmaceutical joint teaching， team-based teaching， academic exchange， and so on. The form of assessment had also shifted from final evaluations to more dynamic formats. The clinical pharmacy undergraduate internship education in China can adopt teaching models such as the layered teaching approach， establish pre-internship assessment or training， and encourage interns to participate in social pharmacy practice and directly interact with patients， etc.， so as to improve the effect of internship.

Medical science and technology are important as they concerns people's life. Innovation of medical science and technology is therefore significant for the development of the science and technology. This article discussed the current situation of medical science and technology in China,and analyszed its opportnities and challenges. In addition, strategies for its development during the Twelfth Five-year Plan period are proposed, namely, to develop HLS, construct the innovative systems of medical science and technology, and to promote the coordinated development of the medicine and science and technology.