1
|
Galimberti F, Olmastroni E, Casula M, Merlo I, Franchi M, Catapano AL, Orlando V, Menditto E, Tragni E, EDU.RE.DRUG Group OBO. Evaluation of Factors Associated With Appropriate Drug Prescription and Effectiveness of Informative and Educational Interventions—The EDU.RE.DRUG Project. Front Pharmacol 2022; 13:832169. [PMID: 35548361 PMCID: PMC9081494 DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2022.832169] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2021] [Accepted: 03/03/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Background: EDU.RE.DRUG study is a prospective, multicentre, open-label, parallel-arm, controlled, pragmatic trial directed to general practitioners (GPs) and their patients. Methods: The study data were retrieved from health-related administrative databases of four local health units (LHUs) of Lombardy and four LHUs in Campania. According to the LHUs, the GPs/patients were assigned to (A) intervention on both GPs (feedback reports about appropriate prescribing among their patients and online courses) and patients (flyers and posters on proper drug use), (B) intervention on GPs, (C) intervention on patients, and (D) no intervention (control arm). A set of appropriate prescribing indicators (potential drug–drug interactions [pDDIs], potential and unnecessary therapeutic duplicates [pTDs], and inappropriate prescriptions in the elderly [ERD-list]) were measured at baseline and after the intervention phase. The effectiveness of the intervention was evaluated estimating the absolute difference in percentages of selected indicators carrying out linear random-intercept mixed-effect models. Results: A cohort of 3,586 GPs (2,567 in intervention groups and 1,019 in the control group) was evaluated. In Campania, the mean pre-intervention percentage of patients with at least one pDDI was always greater than 20% and always lower than 15% in Lombardy. The pre–post difference was quite heterogeneous among the LHUs, ranging from 1.9 to −1.4 percentage points. The mean pre-intervention percentage of patients with pTDs ranged from 0.59 to 2.1%, with slightly higher values characterizing Campania LHUs. The magnitude of the pre–post difference was very low, ranging from −0.11 to 0.20. In Campania, the mean pre-intervention percentage of patients with at least one ERD criterium was considerably higher than in Lombardy (approximately 30% in Lombardy and 50% in Campania). The pre–post difference was again quite heterogeneous. The results from the models accounting for GP geographical belonging suggested that none of the interventions resulted in a statistically significant effect, for all the three indicators considered. Conclusion: The proposed strategy was shown to be not effective in influencing the voluntary changes in GP prescription performance. However, the use of a set of explicit indicators proved to be useful in quantifying the inappropriateness. Further efforts are needed to find more efficient strategies and design more tailored interventions.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Elena Olmastroni
- Epidemiology and Preventive Pharmacology Service (SEFAP), Department of Pharmacological and Biomolecular Sciences, University of Milan, Milan, Italy
| | - Manuela Casula
- IRCCS MultiMedica, Sesto S. Giovanni, Italy
- Epidemiology and Preventive Pharmacology Service (SEFAP), Department of Pharmacological and Biomolecular Sciences, University of Milan, Milan, Italy
- *Correspondence: Manuela Casula,
| | - Ivan Merlo
- National Centre for Healthcare Research and Pharmacoepidemiology, Milan, Italy
- Laboratory of Healthcare Research and Pharmacoepidemiology, Department of Statistics and Quantitative Methods, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy
| | - Matteo Franchi
- National Centre for Healthcare Research and Pharmacoepidemiology, Milan, Italy
- Laboratory of Healthcare Research and Pharmacoepidemiology, Department of Statistics and Quantitative Methods, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy
| | - Alberico Luigi Catapano
- IRCCS MultiMedica, Sesto S. Giovanni, Italy
- Epidemiology and Preventive Pharmacology Service (SEFAP), Department of Pharmacological and Biomolecular Sciences, University of Milan, Milan, Italy
| | - Valentina Orlando
- CIRFF, Center of Pharmacoeconomics, Federico II University of Naples, Naples, Italy
- Department of Pharmacy, Federico II University of Naples, Naples, Italy
| | - Enrica Menditto
- CIRFF, Center of Pharmacoeconomics, Federico II University of Naples, Naples, Italy
- Department of Pharmacy, Federico II University of Naples, Naples, Italy
| | - Elena Tragni
- Epidemiology and Preventive Pharmacology Service (SEFAP), Department of Pharmacological and Biomolecular Sciences, University of Milan, Milan, Italy
| | | |
Collapse
|