Rational prescribing in primary care (RaPP): a cluster randomized trial of a tailored intervention

A Curriculum on Advanced Topics in Hypertension for Internal Medicine Residents

OBJECTIVES

Hypertension (HTN) affects nearly half of US adults. Our multi-institutional survey revealed that Internal Medicine residents lack proficiency in advanced HTN topics. We developed a curriculum to address knowledge gaps in these topics and aimed to assess the effects of the curriculum on residents' confidence, desire for future training, and knowledge in advanced HTN topics.

METHODS

HTN experts taught four advanced topics in HTN: conducting a workup for secondary HTN, managing HTN in chronic kidney disease, managing HTN in patients who are or may become pregnant, and managing hypertensive urgency (severe asymptomatic HTN) in the outpatient setting. The setting of the curriculum was an ambulatory educational half-day, during which residents rotated through small-group sessions dedicated to each HTN topic. We developed pre-, immediate post-, and 8 weeks postcurriculum surveys assessing residents' confidence and desire for future training in the four topics (4-point Likert scales), and multiple-choice quizzes to assess changes in knowledge. We used repeated-measures analysis of variance to compare means between time points for surveys and quizzes.

RESULTS

A total of 112 Internal Medicine residents participated in the curriculum. The mean confidence scores for all four topics increased from 1.79 to 2.61 precurriculum to 2.90 to 3.45 immediately postcurriculum (all P < 0.001) and remained higher (2.53-3.18) than precurriculum at 8 weeks postcurriculum (all P < 0.02). The mean desire for future training scores decreased from 2.74 to 2.96 precurriculum to 2.06 to 2.36 immediately postcurriculum (all P < 0.001 except for managing HTN in patients who are or may become pregnant, which was P = 0.17) and remained lower (2.08-2.36) than precurriculum at 8 weeks postcurriculum (all P ≤ 0.003). The mean knowledge score increased from 48% precurriculum to 62% immediate postcurriculum (P < 0.001) and remained higher (55%) than precurriculum at 8 weeks postcurriculum (P = 0.015).

CONCLUSIONS

A curriculum on advanced HTN topics produced durable gains in confidence and knowledge and partially satisfied the desire for future learning among Internal Medicine residents.

Audit and feedback interventions involving pharmacists to influence prescribing behaviour in general practice: a systematic review and meta-analysis

INTRODUCTION

Pharmacists, as experts in medicines, are increasingly employed in general practices and undertake a range of responsibilities. Audit and feedback (A&F) interventions are effective in achieving behaviour change, including prescribing. The extent of pharmacist involvement in A&F interventions to influence prescribing is unknown. This review aimed to assess the effectiveness of A&F interventions involving pharmacists on prescribing in general practice compared with no A&F/usual care and to describe features of A&F interventions and pharmacist characteristics.

METHODS

Electronic databases (MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, (Social) Science Citation Indexes, ISI Web of Science) were searched (2012, 2019, 2020). Cochrane systematic review methods were applied to trial identification, selection, and risk of bias. Results were summarized descriptively and heterogeneity was assessed. A random-effects meta-analysis was conducted where studies were sufficiently homogenous in design and outcome.

RESULTS

Eleven cluster-randomized studies from 9 countries were included. Risk of bias across most domains was low. Interventions focussed on older patients, specific clinical area(s), or specific medications. Meta-analysis of 6 studies showed improved prescribing outcomes (pooled risk ratio: 0.78, 95% confidence interval: 0.64-0.94). Interventions including both verbal and written feedback or computerized decision support for prescribers were more effective. Pharmacists who received study-specific training, provided ongoing support to prescribers or reviewed prescribing for individual patients, contributed to more effective interventions.

CONCLUSIONS

A&F interventions involving pharmacists can lead to small improvements in evidence-based prescribing in general practice settings. Future implementation of A&F within general practice should compare different ways of involving pharmacists to determine how to optimize effectiveness.PRISMA-compliant abstract included in Supplementary Material 1.

A Fuzzy BWM-TOPSIS Framework for Identifying and Prioritizing Measures to Overcome Obstacles to the Regionalization of Iranian Healthcare Services

Background

One of the most effective strategies to improve the access of community members to health services is to regionalize health services. The purpose of this study is to examine and prioritize measures that could help to counteract obstacles and problems in implementing the regionalization of healthcare in Iran.

Methods

The study relied on a mixed research method, including qualitative and quantitative phases. First, by conducting semi-structured interviews and analyzing them through qualitative content analysis, the obstacles and measures were identified. In the quantitative phase, the obstacles identified were weighted using the fuzzy best-worst method (FBWM), and the measures were then prioritized through the fuzzy TOPSIS (FTOPSIS) method.

Results

The obstacles were categorized into four main dimensions: "infrastructural," "political," "human resources," and "managerial." Among the 15 obstacles identified, "absence of performance guarantees" was the most important obstacle, while "insufficient education" was the least important obstacle to the regionalization of healthcare services in Iran. Meanwhile, the following eight measures that could help to overcome the obstacles were extracted from the interviews: "conducting a needs assessment," "providing clinical guidelines," "employing specialized human resources," "reinforcing the referral system," and "preparing electronic health records," "enhancing education and information dissimilation," "building executive support," and "providing cost-effective equipment and technology." "Employing specialized human resources" was also the most effective measure to overcome the obstacles.

Conclusions

Iranian healthcare policy-makers can use the empirical findings of this investigation to accelerate the implementation of Iran's regionalization plan to improve the access of community members to healthcare services.

Clinical practice guideline adherence in oncology: A qualitative study of insights from clinicians in Australia

BACKGROUND

The burden of cancer is large in Australia, and rates of cancer Clinical Practice Guideline (CPG) adherence is suboptimal across various cancers.

METHODS

The objective of this study is to characterise clinician-perceived barriers and facilitators to cancer CPG adherence in Australia. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to collect data from 33 oncology-focused clinicians (surgeons, radiation oncologists, medical oncologists and haematologists). Clinicians were recruited in 2019 and 2020 through purposive and snowball sampling from 7 hospitals across Sydney, Australia, and interviewed either face-to-face in hospitals or by phone. Audio recordings were transcribed verbatim, and qualitative thematic analysis of the interview data was undertaken. Human research ethics committee approval and governance approval was granted (2019/ETH11722, #52019568810127).

RESULTS

Five broad themes and subthemes of key barriers and facilitators to cancer treatment CPG adherence were identified: Theme 1: CPG content; Theme 2: Individual clinician and patient factors; Theme 3: Access to, awareness of and availability of CPGs; Theme 4: Organisational and cultural factors; and Theme 5: Development and implementation factors. The most frequently reported barriers to adherence were CPGs not catering for patient complexities, being slow to be updated, patient treatment preferences, geographical challenges for patients who travel large distances to access cancer services and limited funding of CPG recommended drugs. The most frequently reported facilitators to adherence were easy accessibility, peer review, multidisciplinary engagement or MDT attendance, and transparent CPG development by trusted, multidisciplinary experts. CPGs provide a reassuring framework for clinicians to check their treatment plans against. Clinicians want cancer CPGs to be frequently updated utilising a wiki-like process, and easily accessible online via a comprehensive database, coordinated by a well-trusted development body.

CONCLUSION

Future implementation strategies of cancer CPGs in Australia should be tailored to consider these context-specific barriers and facilitators, taking into account both the content of CPGs and the communication of that content. The establishment of a centralised, comprehensive, online database, with living wiki-style cancer CPGs, coordinated by a well-funded development body, along with incorporation of recommendations into point-of-care decision support would potentially address many of the issues identified.

Trampisch H, Timmesfeld N, Thürmann P, Hackmann E, Barkhausen T, Junius-Walker U, Wilm S. Reduction of Potentially Inappropriate Medication in the Elderly

BACKGROUND

Medications with an unfavorable risk-benefit profile in the elderly, and for which there are safer alternatives, are designated as potentially inappropriate medications (PIM). The RIME trial (Reduction of Potentially Inappropriate Medication in the Elderly) was based on PRISCUS, a list of PIM that was developed in 2010 for the German pharmaceuticals market. In this trial, it was studied whether special training and the PRISCUS card could lessen PIM and undesired drug-drug interactions (DDI) among elderly patients in primary care.

METHODS

A three-armed, cluster-randomized, controlled trial was carried out in two regions of Germany. 137 primary care practices were randomized in equal numbers to one of two intervention groups-in which either the primary care physicians alone or the entire practice team received special training-or to a control group with general instructions about medication. The primary endpoint was the percentage of patients with at least one PIM or DDI (PIM/DDI) per practice. The primary hypothesis was that at 1 year this endpoint would be more effectively lowered in the intervention groups compared to the control group.

RESULTS

Among 1138 patients regularly taking more than five drugs, 453 (39.8%) had at least one PIM/DDI at the beginning of the trial. The percent - ages of PIM/DDI at the beginning of the trial and 1 year later were 43.0% and 41.3% in the intervention groups and 37.0% and 37.6% in the control group. The estimated intervention effect of any intervention (69 practices) versus control (68 practices) was 2.3% (p = 0.36), while that of team training (35 practices) versus physician training (34 practices) was 4.3% (p = 0.22).

CONCLUSION

The interventions in the RIME trial did not significantly lower the percentage of patients with PIM or DDI.

Sources of Support for Studies That Inform Recommendations of the Community Preventive Services Task Force

OBJECTIVES

The Community Preventive Services Task Force (CPSTF) makes evidence-based recommendations about preventive services, programs, and policies in community settings to improve public health. CPSTF recommendations are based on systematic evidence reviews. This study examined the sponsors (ie, sources of financial, material, or intellectual support) for publications included in systematic reviews used by the CPSTF to make recommendations during a 9-year period.

METHODS

We examined systematic evidence reviews (effectiveness reviews and economic reviews) for CPSTF findings issued from January 1, 2010, through December 31, 2018. We assessed study publications used in these reviews for sources of support; we classified sources as government, nonprofit, industry, or no identified support. We also identified country of origin for each sponsor and the most frequently mentioned sponsors.

RESULTS

The CPSTF issued findings based on 144 systematic reviews (106 effectiveness reviews and 38 economic reviews). These reviews included 3846 publications: 3363 publications in effectiveness reviews and 483 publications in economic reviews. Government agencies supported 57.1% (n = 1919) of publications in effectiveness reviews and 59.2% (n = 286) in economic reviews. More than 1500 study sponsors from 36 countries provided support. The National Institutes of Health was the leading sponsor for effectiveness reviews (21.3%; 718 of 3363) and economic reviews (16.2%; 78 of 480), followed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (7.0%; 234 of 3363 effectiveness reviews and 14.8%; 71 of 480 economic reviews).

CONCLUSIONS

The evidence base used by the CPSTF was supported by an array of sponsors, with government agencies providing the most support. Study findings highlight the need for sponsorship transparency and the role of government as a leading supporter of studies that underpin CPSTF recommendations for improving public health.

Reduction of potentially inappropriate medication in the elderly: design of a cluster-randomised controlled trial in German primary care practices (RIME)

Background:

Potentially inappropriate medication (PIM) is considered to have potentially more harmful than beneficial health effects in elderly patients. A German example for a PIM list is the PRISCUS list that has been available since 2010. PIMs are associated with an increased risk of hospitalisation and adverse health outcomes. Furthermore, drug–drug interactions (DDI) may pose additional risks to patients. It is not yet clear how numbers of PIM and DDI can be reduced in community-dwelling seniors in primary care; nor is it clear whether patients would benefit from such deprescribing.

Methods:

The cluster-randomised controlled study on the “Reduction of potentially Inappropriate Medication in the Elderly” (RIME study) is designed to examine whether an intervention based on the PRISCUS list can lower the proportion of community-dwelling people of ⩾70 years taking at least one PIM and/or medication inducing at least one dangerous DDI. The intervention consists of professional education and training on the reduction of PIM and DDI, and will be offered to either general practitioners (GPs) alone or GPs and their office staff in the experimental study arm. The control group will be offered professional education and training on more general issues of prescribing in the elderly, not specifically addressing PIM or DDI. The primary endpoint is the difference in the proportion of patients with at least one PIM or DDI between the start of the study and study closure after 12 months as compared between intervention and control group. Secondary endpoints include overall mortality, number of hospitalisations during the course of the study, quality of life and costs. Secondary analyses will be explorative, with the cluster randomisation being factored in.

Discussion:

The RIME study will contribute to answering the question of whether an intervention based on the PRISCUS list can reduce the proportion of community-dwelling seniors aged ⩾70 years with at least one PIM and/or DDI, and whether this will result in positive health effects, for example, as regards hospitalisations.

Trial registration

The Study has been registered in the German Clinical Trials Register (DRKS) under the number DRKS00003610.

Stroke follow-up in primary care: a prospective cohort study on guideline adherence

Background

After a stroke, a person has an increased risk of recurrent strokes. Effective secondary prevention can provide significant gains in the form of reduced disability and mortality. While considerable efforts have been made to provide high quality acute treatment of stroke, there has been less focus on the follow-up in general practice after the stroke. One strategy for the implementation of high quality, evidence-based treatment is the development and distribution of clinical guidelines. However, from similar fields of practice, we know that guidelines are often not adhered to. The purpose of this study was to investigate to what degree patients who have suffered a stroke are followed up in general practice, if recommendations in the national guidelines are followed, and if patients achieve the treatment goals recommended in the guidelines.

Methods

The study included patients with cerebral infarction identified by the ICD-10 discharge diagnoses I63.0 trough I63.9 in two Norwegian local hospitals. In total 51 patients participated. They were listed with general practitioners in 18 different clinics. The material consists of the general practitioners’ (GPs’) medical records for these patients in the first year of follow-up; in total 381 consultations.

Results

Of the 381 consultations during the first year of follow-up, 71 (19%) had stroke as the main topic. The blood pressure (BP) target value < 140/90 mmHg was reached by 24 patients (47%). The low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol target value < 2.0 mmol/L was reached by 14 (27%) of the 51 patients. In total six patients (12%) got advice on physical activity and three (6%) received dietary advice. No advice about alcohol consumption was recorded.

Conclusions

The findings support earlier claims that the development and distribution of guidelines alone is not enough to implement a certain practice. Despite being a serious condition, stroke gets limited attention in the first year of follow-up in general practice. This can be explained by the complexity of general practice, where even a serious condition loses the competition for attention to other apparently equally important issues.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (10.1186/s12875-018-0872-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Potentially Inappropriate Prescribing to Older Patients: Criteria, Prevalence and an Intervention to Reduce It: The Prescription Peer Academic Detailing (Rx-PAD) Study - A Cluster-Randomized, Educational Intervention in Norwegian General Practice

Potentially inappropriate prescriptions (PIP) is drug treatment, which in general, at the group level for a median/mean patient, can be considered unfavourable meaning that the risks commonly may outweigh the benefits. This MiniReview reports and discusses the main findings in a large cluster-randomized educational intervention in Norwegian general practice, aimed at reducing the prevalence of PIPs to patients ≥70 years (The Rx-PAD study). Targets for the intervention were general practitioners (GPs) in continuing medical education (CME) groups receiving educational outreach visits (i.e. peer academic detailing). A Delphi consensus process, with a panel of medical experts, was undertaken to elaborate a list of explicit criteria defining PIPs for patients ≥70 years in general practice. Agreement was achieved for 36 explicit PIP criteria, the so-called Norwegian General Practice (NorGeP) criteria. Using a selection (n = 24) of these criteria during a 1-year baseline period on the prescribing practice of 454 GPs (i.e. those enrolled to participate in the intervention trial), we found a prevalence rate of 24.7 PIPs per 100 patients ≥70 years per year. In the Rx-PAD study, 449 GPs completed an educational intervention (96.6% of the included GPs), 250 in the intervention group and 199 in the control arm. Following the intervention, PIPs were reduced by 13% (95% CI 8.6-17.3), and the number of patients who were no longer exposed to one or more PIPs was reduced by 1173 (8.1%). The GPs who responded most strongly to the educational intervention were the oldest GPs (57-68 years), and these were the GPs with the highest prevalence of PIPs at baseline before the intervention.

Results from the CLUES study: a cluster randomized trial for the evaluation of cardiovascular guideline implementation in primary care in Spain

Background

The implementation of evidence-based clinical practice guidelines (CPG) can improve patients care. To date, the impact of implementation strategies has not been evaluated in our context. This study is aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a multifaceted tailored intervention targeting clinician education for the implementation of three cardiovascular risk-related CPGs (type 2 diabetes, hypertension and dyslipidemia) in primary care at the Basque Health Service compared with usual implementation.

Methods

We conducted a cluster randomized controlled trial in two urban districts with 43 primary care units (PCU). Data from all patients diagnosed with diabetes, hypertension and all those eligible for coronary risk (CR) assessment were included.

In the control group, guidelines were introduced in the usual way (by email, intranet and clinical meetings). In the intervention group, the implementation also included a specific website and workshops.

Primary endpoints were annual HbA1c testing (diabetes), annual general laboratory testing (hypertension) and annual CR assessment (dyslipidemia). Secondary endpoints were process, prescription and clinical endpoints related with guideline recommendations. Analysis was performed at a PCU level weighted by cluster size.

Results

Significant differences between groups were observed in primary outcomes in the dyslipidemia CPG: increased CR assessment for both women and men (weighted mean difference, WMD, 13.58 and 12.91%). No significant differences were observed in diabetes and hypertension CPGs primary outcomes. Regarding secondary endpoints, annual CR assessment was significantly higher in both diabetic and hypertensive patients in the intervention group (WMD 28.16 and 27.55%). Rates of CR assessment before starting new statin treatments also increased (WMD 23.09%), resulting in a lower rate of statin prescribing in low risk women. Diuretic prescribing was higher in the intervention group (WMD 20.59%). Clinical outcomes (HbA1c and blood pressure control) did not differ between groups.

Conclusions

The multifaceted implementation proved to be effective to increase the CR assessment and to improve prescription, but ineffective to improve diabetes and hypertension related outcomes. In order to obtain real improvements when cardiovascular issues are tackled, perhaps other or additional interventions need to be implemented besides education of professionals.

Trial registration

Current Controlled Trials, ISRCTN 88876909 (retrospectively registered on January 13, 2009)

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (10.1186/s12913-018-2863-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Analytical Methods for a Learning Health System: 3. Analysis of Observational Studies

The third paper in a series on how learning health systems can use routinely collected electronic health data (EHD) to advance knowledge and support continuous learning, this review describes how analytical methods for individual-level electronic health data EHD, including regression approaches, interrupted time series (ITS) analyses, instrumental variables, and propensity score methods, can also be used to address the question of whether the intervention “works.”

The two major potential sources of bias in non-experimental studies of health care interventions are that the treatment groups compared do not have the same probability of treatment or exposure and the potential for confounding by unmeasured covariates. Although very different, the approaches presented in this chapter are all based on assumptions about data, causal relationships, and biases. For instance, regression approaches assume that the relationship between the treatment, outcome, and other variables is properly specified, all of the variables are available for analysis (i.e., no unobserved confounders) and measured without error, and that the error term is independent and identically distributed. The instrumental variables approach requires identifying an instrument that is related to the assignment of treatment but otherwise has no direct on the outcome. Propensity score methods approaches, on the other hand, assume that there are no unobserved confounders. The epidemiological designs discussed also make assumptions, for instance that individuals can serve as their own control.

To properly address these assumptions, analysts should conduct sensitivity analyses within the assumptions of each method to assess the potential impact of what cannot be observed. Researchers also should analyze the same data with different analytical approaches that make alternative assumptions, and to apply the same methods to different data sets. Finally, different analytical methods, each subject to different biases, should be used in combination and together with different designs, to limit the potential for bias in the final results.

Impact of electronic clinical decision support on adherence to guideline-recommended treatment for hyperlipidaemia, atrial fibrillation and heart failure: protocol for a cluster randomised trial

INTRODUCTION

Clinical practice guidelines facilitate optimal clinical practice. Point of care access, interpretation and application of such guidelines, however, is inconsistent. Informatics-based tools may help clinicians apply guidelines more consistently. We have developed a novel clinical decision support tool that presents guideline-relevant information and actionable items to clinicians at the point of care. We aim to test whether this tool improves the management of hyperlipidaemia, atrial fibrillation and heart failure by primary care clinicians.

METHODS/ANALYSIS

Clinician care teams were cluster randomised to receive access to the clinical decision support tool or passive access to institutional guidelines on 16 May 2016. The trial began on 1 June 2016 when access to the tool was granted to the intervention clinicians. The trial will be run for 6 months to ensure a sufficient number of patient encounters to achieve 80% power to detect a twofold increase in the primary outcome at the 0.05 level of significance. The primary outcome measure will be the percentage of guideline-based recommendations acted on by clinicians for hyperlipidaemia, atrial fibrillation and heart failure. We hypothesise care teams with access to the clinical decision support tool will act on recommendations at a higher rate than care teams in the standard of care arm.

ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION

The Mayo Clinic Institutional Review Board approved all study procedures. Informed consent was obtained from clinicians. A waiver of informed consent and of Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) authorisation for patients managed by clinicians in the study was granted. In addition to publication, results will be disseminated via meetings and newsletters.

TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER

NCT02742545.

Risk scoring for the primary prevention of cardiovascular disease

BACKGROUND

The current paradigm for cardiovascular disease (CVD) emphasises absolute risk assessment to guide treatment decisions in primary prevention. Although the derivation and validation of multivariable risk assessment tools, or CVD risk scores, have attracted considerable attention, their effect on clinical outcomes is uncertain.

OBJECTIVES

To assess the effects of evaluating and providing CVD risk scores in adults without prevalent CVD on cardiovascular outcomes, risk factor levels, preventive medication prescribing, and health behaviours.

SEARCH METHODS

We searched the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) in the Cochrane Library (2016, Issue 2), MEDLINE Ovid (1946 to March week 1 2016), Embase (embase.com) (1974 to 15 March 2016), and Conference Proceedings Citation Index-Science (CPCI-S) (1990 to 15 March 2016). We imposed no language restrictions. We searched clinical trial registers in March 2016 and handsearched reference lists of primary studies to identify additional reports.

SELECTION CRITERIA

We included randomised and quasi-randomised trials comparing the systematic provision of CVD risk scores by a clinician, healthcare professional, or healthcare system compared with usual care (i.e. no systematic provision of CVD risk scores) in adults without CVD.

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS

Three review authors independently selected studies, extracted data, and evaluated study quality. We used the Cochrane 'Risk of bias' tool to assess study limitations. The primary outcomes were: CVD events, change in CVD risk factor levels (total cholesterol, systolic blood pressure, and multivariable CVD risk), and adverse events. Secondary outcomes included: lipid-lowering and antihypertensive medication prescribing in higher-risk people. We calculated risk ratios (RR) for dichotomous data and mean differences (MD) or standardised mean differences (SMD) for continuous data using 95% confidence intervals. We used a fixed-effects model when heterogeneity (I²) was at least 50% and a random-effects model for substantial heterogeneity (I² > 50%). We evaluated the quality of evidence using the GRADE framework.

MAIN RESULTS

We identified 41 randomised controlled trials (RCTs) involving 194,035 participants from 6422 reports. We assessed studies as having high or unclear risk of bias across multiple domains. Low-quality evidence evidence suggests that providing CVD risk scores may have little or no effect on CVD events compared with usual care (5.4% versus 5.3%; RR 1.01, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.95 to 1.08; I² = 25%; 3 trials, N = 99,070). Providing CVD risk scores may reduce CVD risk factor levels by a small amount compared with usual care. Providing CVD risk scores reduced total cholesterol (MD -0.10 mmol/L, 95% CI -0.20 to 0.00; I² = 94%; 12 trials, N = 20,437, low-quality evidence), systolic blood pressure (MD -2.77 mmHg, 95% CI -4.16 to -1.38; I² = 93%; 16 trials, N = 32,954, low-quality evidence), and multivariable CVD risk (SMD -0.21, 95% CI -0.39 to -0.02; I² = 94%; 9 trials, N = 9549, low-quality evidence). Providing CVD risk scores may reduce adverse events compared with usual care, but results were imprecise (1.9% versus 2.7%; RR 0.72, 95% CI 0.49 to 1.04; I² = 0%; 4 trials, N = 4630, low-quality evidence). Compared with usual care, providing CVD risk scores may increase new or intensified lipid-lowering medications (15.7% versus 10.7%; RR 1.47, 95% CI 1.15 to 1.87; I² = 40%; 11 trials, N = 14,175, low-quality evidence) and increase new or increased antihypertensive medications (17.2% versus 11.4%; RR 1.51, 95% CI 1.08 to 2.11; I² = 53%; 8 trials, N = 13,255, low-quality evidence).

AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS

There is uncertainty whether current strategies for providing CVD risk scores affect CVD events. Providing CVD risk scores may slightly reduce CVD risk factor levels and may increase preventive medication prescribing in higher-risk people without evidence of harm. There were multiple study limitations in the identified studies and substantial heterogeneity in the interventions, outcomes, and analyses, so readers should interpret results with caution. New models for implementing and evaluating CVD risk scores in adequately powered studies are needed to define the role of applying CVD risk scores in primary CVD prevention.

Interventions to improve adherence to lipid-lowering medication

BACKGROUND

Lipid-lowering drugs are widely underused, despite strong evidence indicating they improve cardiovascular end points. Poor patient adherence to a medication regimen can affect the success of lipid-lowering treatment.

OBJECTIVES

To assess the effects of interventions aimed at improving adherence to lipid-lowering drugs, focusing on measures of adherence and clinical outcomes.

SEARCH METHODS

We searched the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO and CINAHL up to 3 February 2016, and clinical trials registers (ANZCTR and ClinicalTrials.gov) up to 27 July 2016. We applied no language restrictions.

SELECTION CRITERIA

We evaluated randomised controlled trials of adherence-enhancing interventions for lipid-lowering medication in adults in an ambulatory setting with a variety of measurable outcomes, such as adherence to treatment and changes to serum lipid levels. Two teams of review authors independently selected the studies.

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS

Three review authors extracted and assessed data, following criteria outlined by the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions. We assessed the quality of the evidence using GRADEPro.

MAIN RESULTS

For this updated review, we added 24 new studies meeting the eligibility criteria to the 11 studies from prior updates. We have therefore included 35 studies, randomising 925,171 participants. Seven studies including 11,204 individuals compared adherence rates of those in an intensification of a patient care intervention (e.g. electronic reminders, pharmacist-led interventions, healthcare professional education of patients) versus usual care over the short term (six months or less), and were pooled in a meta-analysis. Participants in the intervention group had better adherence than those receiving usual care (odds ratio (OR) 1.93, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.29 to 2.88; 7 studies; 11,204 participants; moderate-quality evidence). A separate analysis also showed improvements in long-term adherence rates (more than six months) using intensification of care (OR 2.87, 95% CI 1.91 to 4.29; 3 studies; 663 participants; high-quality evidence). Analyses of the effect on total cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol levels also showed a positive effect of intensified interventions over both short- and long-term follow-up. Over the short term, total cholesterol decreased by a mean of 17.15 mg/dL (95% CI 1.17 to 33.14; 4 studies; 430 participants; low-quality evidence) and LDL-cholesterol decreased by a mean of 19.51 mg/dL (95% CI 8.51 to 30.51; 3 studies; 333 participants; moderate-quality evidence). Over the long term (more than six months) total cholesterol decreased by a mean of 17.57 mg/dL (95% CI 14.95 to 20.19; 2 studies; 127 participants; high-quality evidence). Included studies did not report usable data for health outcome indications, adverse effects or costs/resource use, so we could not pool these outcomes. We assessed each included study for bias using methods described in the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions. In general, the risk of bias assessment revealed a low risk of selection bias, attrition bias, and reporting bias. There was unclear risk of bias relating to blinding for most studies.

AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS

The evidence in our review demonstrates that intensification of patient care interventions improves short- and long-term medication adherence, as well as total cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol levels. Healthcare systems which can implement team-based intensification of patient care interventions may be successful in improving patient adherence rates to lipid-lowering medicines.

Information and Communication Technologies for the Dissemination of Clinical Practice Guidelines to Health Professionals: A Systematic Review

BACKGROUND

The transfer of research knowledge into clinical practice can be a continuous challenge for researchers. Information and communication technologies, such as websites and email, have emerged as popular tools for the dissemination of evidence to health professionals.

OBJECTIVE

The objective of this systematic review was to identify research on health professionals' perceived usability and practice behavior change of information and communication technologies for the dissemination of clinical practice guidelines.

METHODS

We used a systematic approach to retrieve and extract data about relevant studies. We identified 2248 citations, of which 21 studies met criteria for inclusion; 20 studies were randomized controlled trials, and 1 was a controlled clinical trial. The following information and communication technologies were evaluated: websites (5 studies), computer software (3 studies), Web-based workshops (2 studies), computerized decision support systems (2 studies), electronic educational game (1 study), email (2 studies), and multifaceted interventions that consisted of at least one information and communication technology component (6 studies).

RESULTS

Website studies demonstrated significant improvements in perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use, but not for knowledge, reducing barriers, and intention to use clinical practice guidelines. Computer software studies demonstrated significant improvements in perceived usefulness, but not for knowledge and skills. Web-based workshop and email studies demonstrated significant improvements in knowledge, perceived usefulness, and skills. An electronic educational game intervention demonstrated a significant improvement from baseline in knowledge after 12 and 24 weeks. Computerized decision support system studies demonstrated variable findings for improvement in skills. Multifaceted interventions demonstrated significant improvements in beliefs about capabilities, perceived usefulness, and intention to use clinical practice guidelines, but variable findings for improvements in skills. Most multifaceted studies demonstrated significant improvements in knowledge.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings suggest that health professionals' perceived usability and practice behavior change vary by type of information and communication technology. Heterogeneity and the paucity of properly conducted studies did not allow for a clear comparison between studies and a conclusion on the effectiveness of information and communication technologies as a knowledge translation strategy for the dissemination of clinical practice guidelines.

Tools developed and disseminated by guideline producers to promote the uptake of their guidelines

BACKGROUND

The uptake of clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) is inconsistent, despite their potential to improve the quality of health care and patient outcomes. Some guideline producers have addressed this problem by developing tools to encourage faster adoption of new guidelines. This review focuses on the effectiveness of tools developed and disseminated by guideline producers to improve the uptake of their CPGs.

OBJECTIVES

To evaluate the effectiveness of implementation tools developed and disseminated by guideline producers, which accompany or follow the publication of a CPG, to promote uptake. A secondary objective is to determine which approaches to guideline implementation are most effective.

SEARCH METHODS

We searched the Cochrane Effective Practice and Organisation of Care (EPOC) Group Specialised Register, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL); NHS Economic Evaluation Database, HTA Database; MEDLINE and MEDLINE In-Process and other non-indexed citations; Embase; PsycINFO; CINAHL; Dissertations and Theses, ProQuest; Index to Theses; Science Citation Index Expanded, ISI Web of Knowledge; Conference Proceedings Citation Index - Science, ISI Web of Knowledge; Health Management Information Consortium (HMIC), and NHS Evidence up to February 2016. We also searched trials registers, reference lists of included studies and relevant websites.

SELECTION CRITERIA

We included randomised controlled trials (RCTs) and cluster-RCTs, controlled before-and-after studies (CBAs) and interrupted time series (ITS) studies evaluating the effects of guideline implementation tools developed by recognised guideline producers to improve the uptake of their own guidelines. The guideline could target any clinical area.

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS

Two review authors independently extracted data and assessed the risk of bias of each included study using the Cochrane 'Risk of bias' criteria. We graded our confidence in the evidence using the approach recommended by the GRADE working group. The clinical conditions targeted and the implementation tools used were too heterogenous to combine data for meta-analysis. We report the median absolute risk difference (ARD) and interquartile range (IQR) for the main outcome of adherence to guidelines.

MAIN RESULTS

We included four cluster-RCTs that were conducted in the Netherlands, France, the USA and Canada. These studies evaluated the effects of tools developed by national guideline producers to implement their CPGs. The implementation tools evaluated targeted healthcare professionals; none targeted healthcare organisations or patients.One study used two short educational workshops tailored to barriers. In three studies the intervention consisted of the provision of paper-based educational materials, order forms or reminders, or both. The clinical condition, type of healthcare professional, and behaviour targeted by the CPG varied across studies.Two of the four included studies reported data on healthcare professionals' adherence to guidelines. A guideline tool developed by the producers of a guideline probably leads to increased adherence to the guidelines; median ARD (IQR) was 0.135 (0.115 and 0.159 for the two studies respectively) at an average four-week follow-up (moderate certainty evidence), which indicates a median 13.5% greater adherence to guidelines in the intervention group. Providing healthcare professionals with a tool to improve implementation of a guideline may lead to little or no difference in costs to the health service.

AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS

Implementation tools developed by recognised guideline producers probably lead to improved healthcare professionals' adherence to guidelines in the management of non-specific low back pain and ordering thyroid-function tests. There are limited data on the relative costs of implementing these interventions.There are no studies evaluating the effectiveness of interventions targeting the organisation of care (e.g. benchmarking tools, costing templates, etc.), or for mass media interventions. We could not draw any conclusions about our second objective, the comparative effectiveness of implementation tools, due to the small number of studies, the heterogeneity between interventions, and the clinical conditions that were targeted.

Cluster randomised trial of a tailored intervention to improve the management of overweight and obesity in primary care in England

Background

Tailoring is a frequent component of approaches for implementing clinical practice guidelines, although evidence on how to maximise the effectiveness of tailoring is limited. In England, overweight and obesity are common, and national guidelines have been produced by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. However, the guidelines are not routinely followed in primary care.

Methods

A tailored implementation intervention was developed following an analysis of the determinants of practice influencing the implementation of the guidelines on obesity and the selection of strategies to address the determinants. General practices in the East Midlands of England were invited to take part in a cluster randomised controlled trial of the intervention. The primary outcome measure was the proportion of overweight or obese patients offered a weight loss intervention. Secondary outcomes were the proportions of patients with (1) a BMI or waist circumference recorded, (2) record of lifestyle assessment, (3) referred to weight loss services, and (4) any change in weight during the study period. We also assessed the mean weight change over the study period. Follow-up was for 9 months after the intervention. A process evaluation was undertaken, involving interviews of samples of participating health professionals.

Results

There were 16 general practices in the control group, and 12 in the intervention group. At follow-up, 15.08 % in the control group and 13.19 % in the intervention group had been offered a weight loss intervention, odds ratio (OR) 1.16, 95 % confidence interval (CI) (0.72, 1.89). BMI/waist circumference measurement 42.71 % control, 39.56 % intervention, OR 1.15 (CI 0.89, 1.48), referral to weight loss services 5.10 % control, 3.67 % intervention, OR 1.45 (CI 0.81, 2.63), weight management in the practice 9.59 % control, 8.73 % intervention, OR 1.09 (CI 0.55, 2.15), lifestyle assessment 23.05 % control, 23.86 % intervention, OR 0.98 (CI 0.76, 1.26), weight loss of at least 1 kg 42.22 % control, 41.65 % intervention, OR 0.98 (CI 0.87, 1.09). Health professionals reported the interventions as increasing their confidence in managing obesity and providing them with practical resources.

Conclusions

The tailored intervention did not improve the implementation of the guidelines on obesity, despite systematic approaches to the identification of the determinants of practice. The methods of tailoring require further development to ensure that interventions target those determinants that most influence implementation.

Trial registration

ISRCTN07457585

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13012-016-0441-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

A tailored intervention to implement guideline recommendations for elderly patients with depression in primary care: a pragmatic cluster randomised trial

Background

Elderly patients with depression are underdiagnosed, undertreated and run a high risk of a chronic course. General practitioners adhere to clinical practice guidelines to a limited degree. In the international research project Tailored Implementation for Chronic Diseases, we tested the effectiveness of tailored interventions to improve care for patients with chronic diseases. In Norway, we examined this approach to improve adherence to six guideline recommendations for elderly patients with depression targeting healthcare professionals, patients and administrators.

Methods

We conducted a cluster randomised trial in 80 Norwegian municipalities. We identified determinants of practice for six recommendations and subsequently tailored interventions to address these determinants. The interventions targeted healthcare professionals, administrators and patients and consisted of outreach visits, a website presenting the recommendations and the underlying evidence, tools to manage depression in the elderly and other web-based resources, including a continuous medical education course for general practitioners. The primary outcome was mean adherence to the recommendations. Secondary outcomes were improvement in depression symptoms as measured by patients and general practitioners. We offered outreach visits to all general practitioners and practice staff in the intervention municipalities. We used electronic software that extracted eligible patients from the general practitioners’ lists. We collected data by interviewing general practitioners or sending them a questionnaire about their practice for four patients on their list and by sending a questionnaire to the patients.

Results

One hundred twenty-four of the 900 general practitioners (14 %) participated in the data collection, 51 in the intervention group and 73 in the control group. We interviewed 77 general practitioners, 47 general practitioners completed the questionnaire, and 134 patients responded to the questionnaire. Amongst the general practitioners who provided data, adherence to the recommendations was 1.6 percentage points higher in the intervention group than in the control group (95 % CI −6 to 9).

Conclusions

The effectiveness of our tailored intervention to implement recommendations for elderly patients with depression in primary care is uncertain, due to the low response rate in the data collection. However, it is unlikely that the effect was large. It remains uncertain how best to improve adherence to evidence-based recommendations and thereby improve the quality of care for these patients.

Trial registration

ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT01913236.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13012-016-0397-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Clinical Decision Support Systems and Prevention: A Community Guide Cardiovascular Disease Systematic Review

CONTEXT

Clinical decision support systems (CDSSs) can help clinicians assess cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk and manage CVD risk factors by providing tailored assessments and treatment recommendations based on individual patient data. The goal of this systematic review was to examine the effectiveness of CDSSs in improving screening for CVD risk factors, practices for CVD-related preventive care services such as clinical tests and prescribed treatments, and management of CVD risk factors.

EVIDENCE ACQUISITION

An existing systematic review (search period, January 1975-January 2011) of CDSSs for any condition was initially identified. Studies of CDSSs that focused on CVD prevention in that review were combined with studies identified through an updated search (January 2011-October 2012). Data analysis was conducted in 2013.

EVIDENCE SYNTHESIS

A total of 45 studies qualified for inclusion in the review. Improvements were seen for recommended screening and other preventive care services completed by clinicians, recommended clinical tests completed by clinicians, and recommended treatments prescribed by clinicians (median increases of 3.8, 4.0, and 2.0 percentage points, respectively). Results were inconsistent for changes in CVD risk factors such as systolic and diastolic blood pressure, total and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and hemoglobin A1C levels.

CONCLUSIONS

CDSSs are effective in improving clinician practices related to screening and other preventive care services, clinical tests, and treatments. However, more evidence is needed from implementation of CDSSs within the broad context of comprehensive service delivery aimed at reducing CVD risk and CVD-related morbidity and mortality.

Interventions to improve adherence to cardiovascular disease guidelines: a systematic review

BACKGROUND

Successful management of cardiovascular disease (CVD) is impaired by poor adherence to clinical practice guidelines. The objective of our review was to synthesize evidence about the effectiveness of interventions that target healthcare providers to improve adherence to CVD guidelines and patient outcomes.

METHODS

We searched PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, PsycINFO, Web of Science and CINAHL databases from inception to June 2014, using search terms related to adherence and clinical practice guidelines. Studies were limited to randomized controlled trials testing an intervention to improve adherence to guidelines that measured both a patient and adherence outcome. Descriptive summary tables were created from data extractions. Meta-analyses were conducted on clinically homogeneous comparisons, and sensitivity analyses and subgroup analyses were carried out where possible. GRADE summary of findings tables were created for each comparison and outcome.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

We included 38 RCTs in our review. Interventions included guideline dissemination, education, audit and feedback, and academic detailing. Meta-analyses were conducted for several outcomes by intervention type. Many comparisons favoured the intervention, though only the adherence outcome for the education intervention showed statistically significant improvement compared to usual care (standardized mean difference = 0.58 [95 % confidence interval 0.35 to 0.8]).

CONCLUSIONS

Many interventions show promise to improve practitioner adherence to CVD guidelines. The quality of evidence and number of trials limited our ability to draw conclusions.

Healthcare professionals' and policy makers' views on implementing a clinical practice guideline of hypertension management: a qualitative study

INTRODUCTION

Most studies have reported barriers to guideline usage mainly from doctors' perspective; few have reported the perspective of other stakeholders. This study aimed to determine the views and barriers to adherence of a national clinical practice guideline (CPG) on management of hypertension from the perspectives of policymakers, doctors and allied healthcare professionals.

METHODS

This study used a qualitative approach with purposive sampling. Seven in depth interviews and six focus group discussions were conducted with 35 healthcare professionals (policy makers, doctors, pharmacists and nurses) at a teaching hospital in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, between February and June 2013. All interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim and checked. Thematic approach was used to analyse the data.

RESULTS

Two main themes and three sub-themes emerged from this study. The main themes were (1) variation in the use of CPG and (2) barriers to adherence to CPG. The three sub-themes for barriers were issues inherent to the CPG, systems and policy that is not supportive of CPG use, and attitudes and behaviour of stakeholders. The main users of the CPG were the primary care doctors. Pharmacists only partially use the guidelines, while nurses and policy makers were not using the CPG at all. Participants had suggested few strategies to improve usage and adherence to CPG. First, update the CPG regularly and keep its content simple with specific sections for allied health workers. Second, use technology to facilitate CPG accessibility and provide protected time for implementation of CPG recommendations. Third, incorporate local CPG in professional training, link CPG adherence to key performance indicators and provide incentives for its use.

CONCLUSIONS

Barriers to the use of CPG hypertension management span across all stakeholders. The development and implementation of CPG focused mainly on doctors with lack of involvement of other healthcare stakeholders. Guidelines should be made simple, current, reliable, accessible, inclusive of all stakeholders and with good policy support.

Tailored interventions to address determinants of practice

BACKGROUND

Tailored intervention strategies are frequently recommended among approaches to the implementation of improvement in health professional performance. Attempts to change the behaviour of health professionals may be impeded by a variety of different barriers, obstacles, or factors (which we collectively refer to as determinants of practice). Change may be more likely if implementation strategies are specifically chosen to address these determinants.

OBJECTIVES

To determine whether tailored intervention strategies are effective in improving professional practice and healthcare outcomes. We compared interventions tailored to address the identified determinants of practice with either no intervention or interventions not tailored to the determinants.

SEARCH METHODS

We conducted searches of The Cochrane Library, MEDLINE, EMBASE, PubMed, CINAHL, and the British Nursing Index to May 2014. We conducted a final search in December 2014 (in MEDLINE only) for more recently published trials. We conducted searches of the metaRegister of Controlled Trials (mRCT) in March 2013. We also handsearched two journals.

SELECTION CRITERIA

Cluster-randomised controlled trials (RCTs) of interventions tailored to address prospectively identified determinants of practice, which reported objectively measured professional practice or healthcare outcomes, and where at least one group received an intervention designed to address prospectively identified determinants of practice.

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS

Two review authors independently assessed quality and extracted data. We undertook qualitative and quantitative analyses, the quantitative analysis including two elements: we carried out 1) meta-regression analyses to compare interventions tailored to address identified determinants with either no interventions or an intervention(s) not tailored to the determinants, and 2) heterogeneity analyses to investigate sources of differences in the effectiveness of interventions. These included the effects of: risk of bias, use of a theory when developing the intervention, whether adjustment was made for local factors, and number of domains addressed with the determinants identified.

MAIN RESULTS

We added nine studies to this review to bring the total number of included studies to 32 comparing an intervention tailored to address identified determinants of practice to no intervention or an intervention(s) not tailored to the determinants. The outcome was implementation of recommended practice, e.g. clinical practice guideline recommendations. Fifteen studies provided enough data to be included in the quantitative analysis. The pooled odds ratio was 1.56 (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.27 to 1.93, P value < 0.001). The 17 studies not included in the meta-analysis had findings showing variable effectiveness consistent with the findings of the meta-regression.

AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS

Despite the increase in the number of new studies identified, our overall finding is similar to that of the previous review. Tailored implementation can be effective, but the effect is variable and tends to be small to moderate. The number of studies remains small and more research is needed, including trials comparing tailored interventions to no or other interventions, but also studies to develop and investigate the components of tailoring (identification of the most important determinants, selecting interventions to address the determinants). Currently available studies have used different methods to identify determinants of practice and different approaches to selecting interventions to address the determinants. It is not yet clear how best to tailor interventions and therefore not clear what the effect of an optimally tailored intervention would be.

A cluster randomised controlled trial of a pharmacist-led collaborative intervention to improve statin prescribing and attainment of cholesterol targets in primary care

BACKGROUND

Small trials with short term follow up suggest pharmacists' interventions targeted at healthcare professionals can improve prescribing. In comparison with clinical guidance, contemporary statin prescribing is sub-optimal and achievement of cholesterol targets falls short of accepted standards, for patients with atherosclerotic vascular disease who are at highest absolute risk and who stand to obtain greatest benefit. We hypothesised that a pharmacist-led complex intervention delivered to doctors and nurses in primary care, would improve statin prescribing and achievement of cholesterol targets for incident and prevalent patients with vascular disease, beyond one year.

METHODS

We allocated general practices to a 12-month Statin Outreach Support (SOS) intervention or usual care. SOS was delivered by one of 11 pharmacists who had received additional training. SOS comprised academic detailing and practical support to identify patients with vascular disease who were not prescribed a statin at optimal dose or did not have cholesterol at target, followed by individualised recommendations for changes to management. The primary outcome was the proportion of patients achieving cholesterol targets. Secondary outcomes were: the proportion of patients prescribed simvastatin 40 mg with target cholesterol achieved; cholesterol levels; prescribing of simvastatin 40 mg; prescribing of any statin and the proportion of patients with cholesterol tested. Outcomes were assessed after an average of 1.7 years (range 1.4-2.2 years), and practice level simvastatin 40 mg prescribing was assessed after 10 years.

FINDINGS

We randomised 31 practices (72 General Practitioners (GPs), 40 nurses). Prior to randomisation a subset of eligible patients were identified to characterise practices; 40% had cholesterol levels below the target threshold. Improvements in data collection procedures allowed identification of all eligible patients (n = 7586) at follow up. Patients in practices allocated to SOS were significantly more likely to have cholesterol at target (69.5% vs 63.5%; OR 1.11, CI 1.00-1.23; p = 0.043) as a result of improved simvastatin prescribing. Subgroup analysis showed the primary outcome was achieved by prevalent but not incident patients. Statistically significant improvements occurred in all secondary outcomes for prevalent patients and all but one secondary outcome (the proportion of patients with cholesterol tested) for incident patients. SOS practices prescribed more simvastatin 40 mg than usual care practices, up to 10 years later.

INTERPRETATION

Through a combination of educational and organisational support, a general practice based pharmacist led collaborative intervention can improve statin prescribing and achievement of cholesterol targets in a high-risk primary care based population.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

International Standard Randomised Controlled Trials Register ISRCTN61233866.

Meta-regression analyses to explain statistical heterogeneity in a systematic review of strategies for guideline implementation in primary health care

This study is an in-depth-analysis to explain statistical heterogeneity in a systematic review of implementation strategies to improve guideline adherence of primary care physicians in the treatment of patients with cardiovascular diseases. The systematic review included randomized controlled trials from a systematic search in MEDLINE, EMBASE, CENTRAL, conference proceedings and registers of ongoing studies. Implementation strategies were shown to be effective with substantial heterogeneity of treatment effects across all investigated strategies. Primary aim of this study was to explain different effects of eligible trials and to identify methodological and clinical effect modifiers. Random effects meta-regression models were used to simultaneously assess the influence of multimodal implementation strategies and effect modifiers on physician adherence. Effect modifiers included the staff responsible for implementation, level of prevention and definition pf the primary outcome, unit of randomization, duration of follow-up and risk of bias. Six clinical and methodological factors were investigated as potential effect modifiers of the efficacy of different implementation strategies on guideline adherence in primary care practices on the basis of information from 75 eligible trials. Five effect modifiers were able to explain a substantial amount of statistical heterogeneity. Physician adherence was improved by 62% (95% confidence interval (95% CI) 29 to 104%) or 29% (95% CI 5 to 60%) in trials where other non-medical professionals or nurses were included in the implementation process. Improvement of physician adherence was more successful in primary and secondary prevention of cardiovascular diseases by around 30% (30%; 95% CI -2 to 71% and 31%; 95% CI 9 to 57%, respectively) compared to tertiary prevention. This study aimed to identify effect modifiers of implementation strategies on physician adherence. Especially the cooperation of different health professionals in primary care practices might increase efficacy and guideline implementation seems to be more difficult in tertiary prevention of cardiovascular diseases.

Identifying determinants of care for tailoring implementation in chronic diseases: an evaluation of different methods

BACKGROUND

The tailoring of implementation interventions includes the identification of the determinants of, or barriers to, healthcare practice. Different methods for identifying determinants have been used in implementation projects, but which methods are most appropriate to use is unknown.

METHODS

The study was undertaken in five European countries, recommendations for a different chronic condition being addressed in each country: Germany (polypharmacy in multimorbid patients); the Netherlands (cardiovascular risk management); Norway (depression in the elderly); Poland (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease--COPD); and the United Kingdom (UK) (obesity). Using samples of professionals and patients in each country, three methods were compared directly: brainstorming amongst health professionals, interviews of health professionals, and interviews of patients. The additional value of discussion structured through reference to a checklist of determinants in addition to brainstorming, and determinants identified by open questions in a questionnaire survey, were investigated separately. The questionnaire, which included closed questions derived from a checklist of determinants, was administered to samples of health professionals in each country. Determinants were classified according to whether it was likely that they would inform the design of an implementation intervention (defined as plausibly important determinants).

RESULTS

A total of 601 determinants judged to be plausibly important were identified. An additional 609 determinants were judged to be unlikely to inform an implementation intervention, and were classified as not plausibly important. Brainstorming identified 194 of the plausibly important determinants, health professional interviews 152, patient interviews 63, and open questions 48. Structured group discussion identified 144 plausibly important determinants in addition to those already identified by brainstorming.

CONCLUSIONS

Systematic methods can lead to the identification of large numbers of determinants. Tailoring will usually include a process to decide, from all the determinants that are identified, those to be addressed by implementation interventions. There is no best buy of methods to identify determinants, and a combination should be used, depending on the topic and setting. Brainstorming is a simple, low cost method that could be relevant to many tailored implementation projects.

Clinical practice guidelines for delirium management: potential application in palliative care

CONTEXT

Delirium occurs in patients across a wide array of health care settings. The extent to which formal management guidelines exist or are adaptable to palliative care is unclear.

OBJECTIVES

This review aims to 1) source published delirium management guidelines with potential relevance to palliative care settings, 2) discuss the process of guideline development, 3) appraise their clinical utility, and 4) outline the processes of their implementation and evaluation and make recommendations for future guideline development.

METHODS

We searched PubMed (1990-2013), Scopus, U.S. National Guideline Clearinghouse, Google, and relevant reference lists to identify published guidelines for the management of delirium. This was supplemented with multidisciplinary input from delirium researchers and other relevant stakeholders at an international delirium study planning meeting.

RESULTS

There is a paucity of high-level evidence for pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions in the management of delirium in palliative care. However, multiple delirium guidelines for clinical practice have been developed, with recommendations derived from "expert opinion" for areas where research evidence is lacking. In addition to their potential benefits, limitations of clinical guidelines warrant consideration. Guidelines should be appraised and then adapted for use in a particular setting before implementation. Further research is needed on the evaluation of guidelines, as disseminated and implemented in a clinical setting, focusing on measurable outcomes in addition to their impact on quality of care.

CONCLUSION

Delirium clinical guidelines are available but the level of evidence is limited. More robust evidence is required for future guideline development.

Irrational prescribing of over-the-counter (OTC) medicines in general practice: testing the feasibility of an educational intervention among physicians in five European countries

BACKGROUND

Irrational prescribing of over-the-counter (OTC) medicines in general practice is common in Southern Europe. Recent findings from a research project funded by the European Commission (FP7), the "OTC SOCIOMED", conducted in seven European countries, indicate that physicians in countries in the Mediterranean Europe region prescribe medicines to a higher degree in comparison to physicians in other participating European countries. In light of these findings, a feasibility study has been designed to explore the acceptance of a pilot educational intervention targeting physicians in general practice in various settings in the Mediterranean Europe region.

METHODS

This feasibility study utilized an educational intervention was designed using the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB). It took place in geographically-defined primary care areas in Cyprus, France, Greece, Malta, and Turkey. General Practitioners (GPs) were recruited in each country and randomly assigned into two study groups in each of the participating countries. The intervention included a one-day intensive training programme, a poster presentation, and regular visits of trained professionals to the workplaces of participants. Reminder messages and email messages were, also, sent to participants over a 4-week period. A pre- and post-test evaluation study design with quantitative and qualitative data was employed. The primary outcome of this feasibility pilot intervention was to reduce GPs' intention to provide medicines following the educational intervention, and its secondary outcomes included a reduction of prescribed medicines following the intervention, as well as an assessment of its practicality and acceptance by the participating GPs.

RESULTS

Median intention scores in the intervention groups were reduced, following the educational intervention, in comparison to the control group. Descriptive analysis of related questions indicated a high overall acceptance and perceived practicality of the intervention programme by GPs, with median scores above 5 on a 7-point Likert scale.

CONCLUSIONS

Evidence from this intervention will estimate the parameters required to design a larger study aimed at assessing the effectiveness of such educational interventions. In addition, it could also help inform health policy makers and decision makers regarding the management of behavioural changes in the prescribing patterns of physicians in Mediterranean Europe, particularly in Southern European countries.

Tailored interventions to implement recommendations for elderly patients with depression in primary care: a study protocol for a pragmatic cluster randomised controlled trial

Background

The prevalence of depression is high and the elderly have an increased risk of developing chronic course. International data suggest that depression in the elderly is under-recognised, the latency before clinicians provide a treatment plan is longer and elderly patients with depression are not offered psychotherapy to the same degree as younger patients. Although recommendations for the treatment of elderly patients with depression exist, health-care professionals adhere to these recommendations to a limited degree only. We conducted a systematic review to identify recommendations for managing depression in the elderly and prioritised six recommendations. We identified and prioritised the determinants of practice related to the implementation of these recommendations in primary care, and subsequently discussed and prioritised interventions to address the identified determinants. The objective of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of these tailored interventions for the six recommendations for the management of elderly patients with depression in primary care.

Methods/design

We will conduct a pragmatic cluster randomised trial comparing the implementation of the six recommendations using tailored interventions with usual care. We will randomise 80 municipalities into one of two groups: an intervention group, to which we will deliver tailored interventions to implement the six recommendations, and a control group, to which we will not deliver any intervention. We will randomise municipalities rather than patients, individual clinicians or practices, because we will deliver the intervention for the first three recommendations at the municipal level and we want to minimise the risk of contamination across GP practices for the other three recommendations. The primary outcome is the proportion of actions taken by GPs that are consistent with the recommendations.

Discussion

This trial will investigate whether a tailored implementation approach is an effective strategy for improving collaborative care in the municipalities and health-care professionals’ practice towards elderly patients with depression in primary care. The effectiveness evaluation described in this protocol will be accompanied with a process evaluation exploring why and how the interventions were effective or ineffective.

Trial registration

ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT01913236

Risks to patient safety associated with implementation of electronic applications for medication management in ambulatory care--a systematic review

BACKGROUND

The objective was to find evidence to substantiate assertions that electronic applications for medication management in ambulatory care (electronic prescribing, clinical decision support (CDSS), electronic health record, and computer generated paper prescriptions), while intended to reduce prescribing errors, can themselves result in errors that might harm patients or increase risks to patient safety.

METHODS

Because a scoping search for adverse events in randomized controlled trials (RCTs) yielded few relevant results, we systematically searched nine databases, including MEDLINE, EMBASE, and The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews for systematic reviews and studies of a wide variety of designs that reported on implementation of the interventions. Studies that had safety and adverse events as outcomes, monitored for them, reported anecdotally adverse events or other events that might indicate a threat to patient safety were included.

RESULTS

We found no systematic reviews that examined adverse events or patient harm caused by organizational interventions. Of the 4056 titles and abstracts screened, 176 full-text articles were assessed for inclusion. Sixty-one studies with appropriate interventions, settings and participants but without patient safety, adverse event outcomes or monitoring for risks were excluded, along with 77 other non-eligible studies. Eighteen randomized controlled trials (RCTs), 5 non-randomized controlled trials (non-R,CTs) and 15 observational studies were included. The most common electronic intervention studied was CDSS and the most frequent clinical area was cardio-vascular, including anti-coagulants. No RCTS or non-R,CTS reported adverse event. Adverse events reported in observational studies occurred less frequently after implementation of CDSS. One RCT and one observational study reported an increase in problematic prescriptions with electronic prescribing

CONCLUSIONS

The safety implications of electronic medication management in ambulatory care have not been established with results from studies included in this systematic review. Only a minority of studies that investigated these interventions included threats to patients' safety as outcomes or monitored for adverse events. It is therefore not surprising that we found little evidence to substantiate fears of new risks to patient safety with their implementation. More research is needed to focus on the draw-backs and negative outcomes that implementation of these interventions might introduce.

Use of IndiGO individualized clinical guidelines in primary care

Objective

To determine if IndiGO individualized clinical guidelines could be implemented in routine practice and assess their effects on care and care experience.

Methods

Matched comparison observational design. IndiGO individualized guidelines, based on a biomathematical simulation model, were used in shared decision-making. Physicians and patients viewed risk estimates and tailored recommendations in a dynamic user interface and discussed them for 5–10 min. Outcome measures were prescribing and dispensing of IndiGO-recommended medications, changes in physiological markers and predicted 5-year risk of heart attack and stroke, and physician and patient perceptions.

Results

489 patients using IndiGO were 4.9 times more likely to receive a statin prescription than were matched usual care controls (p=0.015). No effect was observed on prescribing of antihypertensive medications, but IndiGO-using patients were more likely to pick up at least one dispensing (p<0.05). No significant changes were observed in blood pressure or serum lipid levels. Predicted risk of heart attack or stroke decreased 1.6% among patients using IndiGO versus 1.0% among matched controls (p<0.01). Physician and patient experiences were positive to neutral.

Limitations

We could not assess the separate effects of individualized guidelines, user interface, and physician–patient discussions. Patient selection could have influenced results. The measure of risk reduction was not independent of the individualized guidelines.

Conclusions

IndiGO individualized clinical guidelines were successfully implemented in primary care and were associated with increases in the use of cardioprotective medications and reduction in the predicted risk of adverse events, suggesting that a larger trial could be warranted.

Effect of a brief outreach educational intervention on the translation of acute poisoning treatment guidelines to practice in rural Sri Lankan hospitals: a cluster randomized controlled trial

Background

In developing countries, including Sri Lanka, a high proportion of acute poisoning and other medical emergencies are initially treated in rural peripheral hospitals. Patients are then usually transferred to referral hospitals for further treatment. Guidelines are often used to promote better patient care in these emergencies. We conducted a cluster randomized controlled trial (ISRCTN73983810) which aimed to assess the effect of a brief educational outreach (‘academic detailing’) intervention to promote the utilization of treatment guidelines for acute poisoning.

Methods and Findings

This cluster RCT was conducted in the North Central Province of Sri Lanka. All peripheral hospitals in the province were randomized to either intervention or control. All hospitals received a copy of the guidelines. The intervention hospitals received a brief out-reach academic detailing workshop which explained poisoning treatment guidelines and guideline promotional items designed to be used in daily care. Data were collected on all patients admitted due to poisoning for 12 months post-intervention in all study hospitals. Information collected included type of poison exposure, initial investigations, treatments and hospital outcome. Patients transferred from peripheral hospitals to referral hospitals had their clinical outcomes recorded. There were 23 intervention and 23 control hospitals. There were no significant differences in the patient characteristics, such as age, gender and the poisons ingested. The intervention hospitals showed a significant improvement in administration of activated charcoal [OR 2.95 (95% CI 1.28–6.80)]. There was no difference between hospitals in use of other decontamination methods.

Conclusion

This study shows that an educational intervention consisting of brief out-reach academic detailing was effective in changing treatment behavior in rural Sri Lankan hospitals. The intervention was only effective for treatments with direct clinician involvement, such as administering activated charcoal. It was not successful for treatments usually administered by non-professional staff such as forced emesis for poisoning.

Trial Registration

Controlled-Trials.com ISRCTN73983810 ISRCTN73983810

Compliance with quality prescribing indicators in terms of their relationship to financial incentives

OBJECTIVE

To develop quality prescribing indicators for general practitioners (GPs) who are non-monitored and not included in pay-for-performance programs, and to determine compliance with incentivized and non-incentivized indicators.

STUDY DESIGN

Descriptive cross sectional study.

SETTING

Aljarafe Primary Health Care Area (Andalusian Public Health Care Service, Spain), a rural and suburban area with a population of 323,857 inhabitants. Health assistance in this area is provided by 176 GPs in 37 health centers. Prescribing indicators were developed by a multidisciplinary group using a qualitative technique based on consensus. The members of the consensus group searched for updated recommendations focused on clinical evidence. Prescribing data were obtained from the computerised pharmacy records of reimbursed drugs and clinical data from the electronic clinical databases and hospital admission records.

RESULTS

Fourteen indicators based on the selection of drugs of different therapeutic groups or linked to patient´s clinical information were designed. The compliance with indicators based on the selection of drugs linked to financial incentives was higher than that of indicators not linked to financial incentives. The compliance with indicators based on clinical information varied widely. Inappropriate prescribing ranged from 7 %, in the use of long-acting beta-agonists in asthma, to 86 % in the use of drugs for the prevention of osteoporotic fractures in young women.

CONCLUSIONS

This study shows better compliance by GPs with indirect and incentivized quality prescribing indicators, included in pay-for-performance programs, compared with not-incentivized indicators based on the relative use of drugs and on the appropriateness prescribing.

Barriers and facilitators to the implementation of clinical practice guidelines: a cross-sectional survey among physicians in Estonia

BACKGROUND

In an era when an increasing amount of clinical information is available to health care professionals, the effective implementation of clinical practice guidelines requires the development of strategies to facilitate the use of these guidelines. The objective of this study was to assess attitudes towards clinical practice guidelines, as well as the barriers and facilitators to their use, among Estonian physicians. The study was conducted to inform the revision of the clinical practice guideline development process and can provide inspiration to other countries considering the increasing use of evidence-based medicine.

METHODS

We conducted an online survey of physicians to assess resource, system, and attitudinal barriers. We also asked a set of questions related to improving the use of clinical practice guidelines and collected free-text comments. We hypothesized that attitudes concerning guidelines may differ by gender, years of experience and practice setting. The study population consisted of physicians from the database of the Department of Continuing Medical Education of the University of Tartu. Differences between groups were analyzed using the Kruskal-Wallis non-parametric test.

RESULTS

41% (497/1212) of physicians in the database completed the questionnaire, comprising more than 10% of physicians in the country. Most respondents (79%) used treatment guidelines in their daily clinical practice. Lack of time was the barrier identified by the most physicians (42%), followed by lack of medical resources for implementation (32%). The majority of physicians disagreed with the statement that guidelines were not accessible (73%) or too complicated (70%). Physicians practicing in outpatient settings or for more than 25 years were the most likely to experience difficulties in guideline use. 95% of respondents agreed that an easy-to-find online database of guidelines would facilitate use.

CONCLUSIONS

Use of updated evidence-based guidelines is a prerequisite for the high-quality management of diseases, and recognizing the factors that affect guideline compliance makes it possible to work towards improving guideline adherence in clinical practice. In our study, physicians with long-term clinical experience and doctors in outpatient settings perceived more barriers, which should be taken into account when planning strategies in improving the use of guidelines. Informed by the results of the survey, leading health authorities are making an effort to develop specially designed interventions to implement clinical practice guidelines, including an easily accessible online database.

Audit and feedback: effects on professional practice and healthcare outcomes

BACKGROUND

Audit and feedback is widely used as a strategy to improve professional practice either on its own or as a component of multifaceted quality improvement interventions. This is based on the belief that healthcare professionals are prompted to modify their practice when given performance feedback showing that their clinical practice is inconsistent with a desirable target. Despite its prevalence as a quality improvement strategy, there remains uncertainty regarding both the effectiveness of audit and feedback in improving healthcare practice and the characteristics of audit and feedback that lead to greater impact.

OBJECTIVES

To assess the effects of audit and feedback on the practice of healthcare professionals and patient outcomes and to examine factors that may explain variation in the effectiveness of audit and feedback.

SEARCH METHODS

We searched the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) 2010, Issue 4, part of The Cochrane Library. www.thecochranelibrary.com, including the Cochrane Effective Practice and Organisation of Care (EPOC) Group Specialised Register (searched 10 December 2010); MEDLINE, Ovid (1950 to November Week 3 2010) (searched 09 December 2010); EMBASE, Ovid (1980 to 2010 Week 48) (searched 09 December 2010); CINAHL, Ebsco (1981 to present) (searched 10 December 2010); Science Citation Index and Social Sciences Citation Index, ISI Web of Science (1975 to present) (searched 12-15 September 2011).

SELECTION CRITERIA

Randomised trials of audit and feedback (defined as a summary of clinical performance over a specified period of time) that reported objectively measured health professional practice or patient outcomes. In the case of multifaceted interventions, only trials in which audit and feedback was considered the core, essential aspect of at least one intervention arm were included.

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS

All data were abstracted by two independent review authors. For the primary outcome(s) in each study, we calculated the median absolute risk difference (RD) (adjusted for baseline performance) of compliance with desired practice compliance for dichotomous outcomes and the median percent change relative to the control group for continuous outcomes. Across studies the median effect size was weighted by number of health professionals involved in each study. We investigated the following factors as possible explanations for the variation in the effectiveness of interventions across comparisons: format of feedback, source of feedback, frequency of feedback, instructions for improvement, direction of change required, baseline performance, profession of recipient, and risk of bias within the trial itself. We also conducted exploratory analyses to assess the role of context and the targeted clinical behaviour. Quantitative (meta-regression), visual, and qualitative analyses were undertaken to examine variation in effect size related to these factors.

MAIN RESULTS

We included and analysed 140 studies for this review. In the main analyses, a total of 108 comparisons from 70 studies compared any intervention in which audit and feedback was a core, essential component to usual care and evaluated effects on professional practice. After excluding studies at high risk of bias, there were 82 comparisons from 49 studies featuring dichotomous outcomes, and the weighted median adjusted RD was a 4.3% (interquartile range (IQR) 0.5% to 16%) absolute increase in healthcare professionals' compliance with desired practice. Across 26 comparisons from 21 studies with continuous outcomes, the weighted median adjusted percent change relative to control was 1.3% (IQR = 1.3% to 28.9%). For patient outcomes, the weighted median RD was -0.4% (IQR -1.3% to 1.6%) for 12 comparisons from six studies reporting dichotomous outcomes and the weighted median percentage change was 17% (IQR 1.5% to 17%) for eight comparisons from five studies reporting continuous outcomes. Multivariable meta-regression indicated that feedback may be more effective when baseline performance is low, the source is a supervisor or colleague, it is provided more than once, it is delivered in both verbal and written formats, and when it includes both explicit targets and an action plan. In addition, the effect size varied based on the clinical behaviour targeted by the intervention.

AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS

Audit and feedback generally leads to small but potentially important improvements in professional practice. The effectiveness of audit and feedback seems to depend on baseline performance and how the feedback is provided. Future studies of audit and feedback should directly compare different ways of providing feedback.

[Quality prescribing of long-acting beta-agonists. Results of an intervention in Primary Care]

OBJECTIVE

To assess an intervention aimed to reduce inappropriate prescribing of long-acting beta-agonists (LABA) in Primary Care. MATERIAL AND METHODS;

DESIGN

Quasi-experimental pre/post study without control group.

SETTING

Aljarafe Primary Health Care Area (Seville, Spain).

PARTICIPANTS

General practitioners with LABA prescriptions without inhaled corticosteroids (iCT), who worked more than 40% of working days in the study period. Study unit: Simple randomised sample of patients with LABA prescriptions without iCT.

INTERVENTIONS

Mailing educational material with recommendations on the appropriate use of LABA and a list of their patients with inappropriate prescriptions.

MAIN MEASUREMENT

Appropriateness of LABA prescriptions as indicated in the Product Summary Characteristics. Patient age, sex, type of LABA and diagnoses were analysed.

SOURCES

An information system for billing computerized prescriptions and medical history.

RESULTS

Before intervention, prescriptions were inappropriate in 70.3% of patients, and 51.8% received LABA without iCT for unapproved conditions. A diagnosis associated with a respiratory condition was not recorded in the Computerised Medical Records of 18.5% of the patients. After intervention, the percentage of inappropriate prescriptions in the sample dropped to 4.5%, mainly due to a review of the treatment (LABA cessation or iCT addition).

CONCLUSIONS

There is a high level of inappropriate use of LABA in Primary Health Care. Mailing educational materials combined with the list of patients with an inappropriate LABA prescription to general practitioners seems to be an effective strategy to improve quality prescribing in respiratory pathologies.

Change in antihypertensive drug prescribing after guideline implementation: a controlled before and after study

Background

Antihypertensive drug choices and treatment levels are not in accordance with the existing guidelines. We aimed to assess the impact of a guideline implementation intervention on antihypertensive drug prescribing.

Methods

In this controlled before and after study, the effects of a multifaceted (education, audit and feedback, local care pathway) quality programme was evaluated. The intervention was carried out in a health centre between 2002 and 2003. From each health care unit (n = 31), a doctor-nurse pair was trained to act as peer facilitators in the intervention.

All antihypertensive drugs prescribed by 25 facilitator general practitioners (intervention GPs) and 53 control GPs were retrieved from the nationwide Prescription Register for three-month periods in 2001 and 2003. The proportions of patients receiving specific antihypertensive drugs and multiple antihypertensive drugs were measured before and after the intervention for three subgroups of hypertension patients: hypertension only, with coronary heart disease, and with diabetes.

Results

In all subgroups, the use of multiple concurrent medications increased. For intervention patients with hypertension only, the odds ratio (OR) was 1.12 (95% CI 0.99, 1.25; p = 0.06) and for controls 1.13 (1.05, 1.21; p = 0.002). We observed no statistically significant differences in the change in the prescribing of specific antihypertensive agents between the intervention and control groups. The use of agents acting on the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system increased in all subgroups (hypertension only intervention patients OR 1.19 (1.06, 1.34; p = 0.004) and controls OR 1.24 (1.15, 1.34; p < 0.0001).

Conclusions

A multifaceted guideline implementation intervention does not necessarily lead to significant changes in prescribing performance. Rigorous planning of the interventions and quality projects and their evaluation are essential.

Lipid-lowering drugs in ischaemic heart disease: a quasi-experimental uncontrolled before-and-after study of the effectiveness of clinical practice guidelines

Background

Cardiovascular diseases(CVD), specifically ischaemic heart disease(IHD), are the main causes of death in industrialized countries. Statins are not usually prescribed in the most appropriate way. To ensure the correct prescription of these drugs, it is necessary to develop, disseminate and implement clinical practice guidelines(CPGs), and subsequently evaluate them.

The main objective of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of the implementation of consensual Lipid-lowering drugs (LLD) prescription guidelines in hospital and primary care settings, to improve the control of Low-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol (LDL-C) levels in patients with IHD in the Terres de l'Ebre region covered by the Catalonian Health Institute. Secondary objectives are to assess the improvement of the prescription profile of these LLDs, to assess cardiovascular morbimortality and the professional profile and participant centre characteristics that govern the control of LDL-C.

Methods/Design

Design: Quasi-experimental uncontrolled before and after study. The intervention consists of the delivery of training strategies for guideline implementation (classroom clinical sessions and on-line courses) aimed at primary care and hospital physicians. The improvement in the control of LDL-C levels in the 3,402 patients with IHD in our territory is then assessed.

Scope: Primary care physicians from 11 basic health areas(BHAs) and two hospital services (internal medicine and cardiology).

Sample: 3,402 patients registered with IHD in the database of the Catalan Institute of Health(E-cap) before December 2008 and patients newly diagnosed during 2009-2010.

Variables: Percentage of patients achieving good control of LDL-C, measured in milligrams per decilitre. The aim of the intervention is to achieve levels of LDL-C < 100 mg/dl in patients with IHD. Secondary variables measure type and time of diagnosis of IHD, type and dose of prescribed cholesterol-lowering drugs, level of physician participation in training activities and their professional profile.

Discussion

The development of prescription guidelines previously agreed by various medical specialists involved in treating IHD patients have usually improved drug prescription. The guideline presented in this study aims to improve the control of LDL-C by training physicians through presential and on-line courses on the dissemination of this guideline, and by providing feedback on their personal results a year after this training intervention.

Tailored interventions to overcome identified barriers to change: effects on professional practice and health care outcomes

BACKGROUND

In the previous version of this review, the effectiveness of interventions tailored to barriers to change was found to be uncertain.

OBJECTIVES

To assess the effectiveness of interventions tailored to address identified barriers to change on professional practice or patient outcomes.

SEARCH STRATEGY

For this update, in addition to the EPOC Register and pending files, we searched the following databases without language restrictions, from inception until August 2007: MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, BNI and HMIC. We searched the National Research Register to November 2007. We undertook further searches to October 2009 to identify potentially eligible published or ongoing trials.

SELECTION CRITERIA

Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) of interventions tailored to address prospectively identified barriers to change that reported objectively measured professional practice or healthcare outcomes in which at least one group received an intervention designed to address prospectively identified barriers to change.

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS

Two reviewers independently assessed quality and extracted data. We undertook quantitative and qualitative analyses. The quantitative analyses had two elements.1. We carried out a meta-regression to compare interventions tailored to address identified barriers to change with either no interventions or an intervention(s) not tailored to the barriers.2. We carried out heterogeneity analyses to investigate sources of differences in the effectiveness of interventions. These included the effects of: risk of bias, concealment of allocation, rigour of barrier analysis, use of theory, complexity of interventions, and the reported presence of administrative constraints.

MAIN RESULTS

We included 26 studies comparing an intervention tailored to address identified barriers to change to no intervention or an intervention(s) not tailored to the barriers. The effect sizes of these studies varied both across and within studies.Twelve studies provided enough data to be included in the quantitative analysis. A meta-regression model was fitted adjusting for baseline odds by fitting it as a covariate, to obtain the pooled odds ratio of 1.54 (95% CI, 1.16 to 2.01) from Bayesian analysis and 1.52 (95% CI, 1.27 to 1.82, P < 0.001) from classical analysis. The heterogeneity analyses found that no study attributes investigated were significantly associated with effectiveness of the interventions.

AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS

Interventions tailored to prospectively identified barriers are more likely to improve professional practice than no intervention or dissemination of guidelines. However, the methods used to identify barriers and tailor interventions to address them need further development. Research is required to determine the effectiveness of tailored interventions in comparison with other interventions.

Improving adherence to treatment guidelines: a blueprint

Patients with chronic diseases often require complex medication regimens to meet evidence-based treatment guidelines. However, translating evidence-based recommendations into clinical care has proven to be difficult. Several factors-patient adherence, disease complexity, competing medical issues, guideline dissemination, and clinical inertia-are thought to contribute to this problem. In this manuscript, we describe a multidisciplinary ambulatory approach to improve the care of patients with chronic conditions. Our goal was to design an intervention that focused on improving the prescription rates of medications known to reduce cardiovascular-related events and hospital admissions for patients with diabetes mellitus, coronary artery disease, heart failure, chronic kidney disease, or stroke. We also describe the critical lessons we have learned in implementing our intervention, including the successes and barriers we encountered during the project.

Cardiovascular risk management and its impact on hypertension control in primary care in low-resource settings: a cluster-randomized trial

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate a simple cardiovascular risk management package for assessing and managing cardiovascular risk using hypertension as an entry point in primary care facilities in low-resource settings.

METHODS

Two geographically distant regions in two countries (China and Nigeria) were selected and 10 pairs of primary care facilities in each region were randomly selected and matched. Regions were then randomly assigned to a control group, which received usual care, or to an intervention group, which applied the cardiovascular risk management package. Each facility enrolled 60 consecutive patients with hypertension. Intervention sites educated patients about risk factors at baseline and initiated treatment with hydrochlorothiazide at 4 months in patients at medium risk of a cardiovascular event, according to a standardized treatment algorithm. Systolic blood pressure change from baseline to 12 months was the primary outcome measure.

FINDINGS

The study included 2397 patients with baseline hypertension: 1191 in 20 intervention facilities and 1206 in 20 control facilities. Systolic and diastolic blood pressure decreased more in intervention patients than in controls. However, at 12 months more than half of patients still had uncontrolled hypertension (systolic blood pressure > 140 mmHg and/or diastolic blood pressure > 90 mmHg). Behavioural risk factors had improved among intervention patients in Nigeria but not in China. Only about 2% of hypertensive patients required referral to the next level of care.

CONCLUSION

Even in low-resource settings, hypertensive patients can be effectively assessed and managed in primary care facilities.

Current European guidelines for management of arterial hypertension: are they adequate for use in primary care? Modelling study based on the Norwegian HUNT 2 population

BACKGROUND

Previous studies indicate that clinical guidelines using combined risk evaluation for cardiovascular diseases (CVD) may overestimate risk. The aim of this study was to model and discuss implementation of the current (2007) hypertension guidelines in a general Norwegian population.

METHODS

Implementation of the current European Guidelines for the Management of Arterial Hypertension was modelled on data from a cross-sectional, representative Norwegian population study (The Nord-Trøndelag Health Study 1995-97), comprising 65,028 adults, aged 20-89, of whom 51,066 (79%) were eligible for modelling.

RESULTS

Among individuals with blood pressure >or=120/80 mmHg, 93% (74% of the total, adult population) would need regular clinical attention and/or drug treatment, based on their total CVD risk profile. This translates into 296,624 follow-up visits/100,000 adults/year. In the Norwegian healthcare environment, 99 general practitioner (GP) positions would be required in the study region for this task alone. The number of GPs currently serving the adult population in the study area is 87 per 100,000 adults.

CONCLUSION

The potential workload associated with the European hypertension guidelines could destabilise the healthcare system in Norway, one of the world's most long- and healthy-living nations, by international comparison. Large-scale, preventive medical enterprises can hardly be regarded as scientifically sound and ethically justifiable, unless issues of practical feasibility, sustainability and social determinants of health are considered.

Do computerised clinical decision support systems for prescribing change practice? A systematic review of the literature (1990-2007)

BACKGROUND

Computerised clinical decision support systems (CDSSs) are used widely to improve quality of care and patient outcomes. This systematic review evaluated the impact of CDSSs in targeting specific aspects of prescribing, namely initiating, monitoring and stopping therapy. We also examined the influence of clinical setting (institutional vs ambulatory care), system- or user-initiation of CDSS, multi-faceted vs stand alone CDSS interventions and clinical target on practice changes in line with the intent of the CDSS.

METHODS

We searched Medline, Embase and PsychINFO for publications from 1990-2007 detailing CDSS prescribing interventions. Pairs of independent reviewers extracted the key features and prescribing outcomes of methodologically adequate studies (experiments and strong quasi-experiments).

RESULTS

56 studies met our inclusion criteria, 38 addressing initiating, 23 monitoring and three stopping therapy. At the time of initiating therapy, CDSSs appear to be somewhat more effective after, rather than before, drug selection has occurred (7/12 versus 12/26 studies reporting statistically significant improvements in favour of CDSSs on = 50% of prescribing outcomes reported). CDSSs also appeared to be effective for monitoring therapy, particularly using laboratory test reminders (4/7 studies reporting significant improvements in favour of CDSSs on the majority of prescribing outcomes). None of the studies addressing stopping therapy demonstrated impacts in favour of CDSSs over comparators. The most consistently effective approaches used system-initiated advice to fine-tune existing therapy by making recommendations to improve patient safety, adjust the dose, duration or form of prescribed drugs or increase the laboratory testing rates for patients on long-term therapy. CDSSs appeared to perform better in institutional compared to ambulatory settings and when decision support was initiated automatically by the system as opposed to user initiation. CDSSs implemented with other strategies such as education were no more successful in improving prescribing than stand alone interventions. Cardiovascular disease was the most studied clinical target but few studies demonstrated significant improvements on the majority of prescribing outcomes.

CONCLUSION

Our understanding of CDSS impacts on specific aspects of the prescribing process remains relatively limited. Future implementation should build on effective approaches including the use of system-initiated advice to address safety issues and improve the monitoring of therapy.

Intervention with educational outreach at large scale to reduce antibiotics for respiratory tract infections: a controlled before and after study

BACKGROUND

A multiple intervention targeted to reduce antibiotic prescribing with an educational outreach programme had proven to be effective in a randomized controlled trial in 12 peer review groups, demonstrating 12% less prescriptions for respiratory tract infections.

OBJECTIVE

To assess the effectiveness of a multiple intervention in primary care at a large scale.

METHODS

A controlled before and after study in 2006 and 2007 was designed. Participants were from general practices within a geographically defined area in the middle region of The Netherlands. Participants were GPs in 141 practices in 25 peer review groups. A control group of GP practices from the same region, matched for type of practice and mean volume of antibiotic prescribing. The multiple intervention consisted of the following elements: (i) group education meeting and communication training; (ii) monitoring and feedback on prescribing behaviour; (iii) group education for GPs and pharmacists assistants and (iv) patient education material. The main outcome measures are as follows: (i) number of antibiotic prescriptions per 1000 patients per GP and (ii) number of second-choice antibiotics, obtained from claims data from the regional health insurance company. The associations between predictors and outcome measurements were assessed by means of a multiple regression analyses.

RESULTS

At baseline, the number of antibiotic prescriptions per 1000 patients was slightly higher in the intervention group than in the control group (184 versus 176). In 2007, the number of prescriptions had increased to 232 and 227, respectively, and not differed between intervention and control group.

CONCLUSIONS

The implementation of an already proven effective multiple intervention strategy at a larger scale showed no reduction of antibiotic prescription rates. The failure might be attributed to a less tight monitoring of intervention and audit. Inserting practical tools in the intervention might be more successful and should be studied.

A 41-year-old African American man with poorly controlled hypertension: review of patient and physician factors related to hypertension treatment adherence

Mr R is an African American man with a long history of poorly controlled hypertension and difficulties with adherence to recommended treatments. Despite serious complications such as hypertensive emergency requiring hospitalization and awareness of the seriousness of his illness, Mr R says at times he has ignored his high blood pressure and his physicians' recommendations. African Americans are disproportionately affected by hypertension and its complications. Although most pharmacological and dietary therapies for hypertension are similarly efficacious for African Americans and whites, disparities in hypertension treatment persist. Like many patients, Mr R faces several barriers to effective blood pressure control: societal, health system, individual, and interactions with health professionals. Moreover, evidence indicates that patients' cognitive, affective, and attitudinal factors and the patient-physician relationship play critical roles in improving outcomes and reducing racial disparities in hypertension control.

A multifaceted intervention to improve blood pressure control: The Guideline Adherence for Heart Health (GLAD) study

BACKGROUND

Although high blood pressure is associated with significant morbidity and mortality, the proportion reaching the goal blood pressures as outlined in the Seventh Report of the Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, Treatment of High Blood Pressure (JNC 7) is low. We conducted a randomized trial in primary care practices of a multifactorial intervention targeted to improve providers' adherence to hypertension guidelines.

METHOD

A total of 61 primary care practices in North Carolina were randomized to receive either a multifactorial intervention (guideline dissemination via a continuing medical education session, academic detailing sessions, audit and feedback on preintervention rates of adherence, and automated blood pressure machines) or an attention control of similar magnitude but targeted at a different guideline. Outcomes were determined through review of patient charts conducted by an independent masked quality assurance organization.

RESULTS

We found no difference between the 2 groups in any of the adherence measures including no difference in the percentage of patients at goal (intervention 49.2%, control 50.6%), with undiagnosed hypertension (18.1% vs 13.6%), average systolic (126 vs 125.1 mm Hg), or diastolic blood pressure (73.1 vs 73.4 mm Hg). Similarly, there was no difference in provider adherence to treatment recommendations (use of thiazide-type diuretic as first-line therapy: 32% vs 29.5%; use of 2-drug therapy in stage 2 hypertension: 11.3% vs 10.4%).

CONCLUSION

An intensive, multifactorial intervention did not improve adherence to national hypertension guidelines among community-based primary care. Efforts should be focused on other types of interventions to improve rates of control of hypertension.