Application of a prescribing indicators tool to assist in identifying and resolving drug-related problems in older Australians - a randomized controlled trial.

For older patients with drug-related problems, will the application of a prescribing indicators tool as part of the medication review process compared to older patients receiving standard care improve health related quality of life and medication management

Status

Completed

Phases

Phase 2

Study type

Interventional

Source

ANZCTR

Registry ID

ACTRN12611000995976

Enrollment

200

Registered

2011-09-19

Start date

2008-06-03

Completion date

2011-11-03

Last updated

2020-01-13

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

None listed

Brief summary

The purpose of this study is to improve the medication management and health related quality of life of a cohort of older Australians by applying a prescribing indicators tool to detect potential and actual drug related problems, and then attempting to correct them by writing to the patients general medical practitioner.

Interventions

Test patients receive a medication review, based on application of a prescribing indicators tool, sent to their general medical practitioner. The prescribing indicators tool is a list of 48 best-practice recommendations for evidence-based medication management. The intervention may involve 1-3 patient consultations for a maximum total duration of 75 minutes.

Study design

Allocation

Randomised controlled trial

Intervention model

Parallel

Primary purpose

Prevention

Masking

Open (masking not used)

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

All

Age

65 Years to No maximum

Healthy volunteers

Inclusion criteria

Taking more than 5 medications, English speaking, cognitively well, living within 15 km of the hospital, 65 years of age or older

Exclusion criteria

The following patients were excluded; patients less than 65 years old; who did not speak English; who lived further than 15 km distance from the research site; who were taking less than 5 medicines; and who were cognitively unwell or had dementia.

Outcome results