Reducing unnecessary prescriptions in healthcare of older adults through a behavioral intervention based on peer comparison

Effect of social norm feedback e-mails on high-prescribers of Nimodipine in older adults: a randomized controlled trial

Status

Active, not recruiting

Phases

Unknown

Study type

Interventional

Source

ISRCTN

Registry ID

ISRCTN17823729

Enrollment

1800

Registered

2020-04-21

Start date

2019-05-01

Completion date

Unknown

Last updated

2021-01-05

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

Conditions

Overprescription of nimodipine as a drug for treating or preventing cognitive deficit in older adults Not Applicable

Interventions

Participants are randomly allocated to control and experimental groups (1:1 ratio) controlling for number of nimodipine prescriptions over the last trimester of 2018 with R software with the package R

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

All

Inclusion criteria

Inclusion criteria: General practitioners who: 1. Prescribed nimodipine during the last quarter of 2018 2. Are within the top 25% prescribers of the drug

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion criteria: 1. Not in the top 25% of prescribers of nimodipine 2. Email address not available

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame
Cumulative total number of nimodipine prescriptions per 1000 prescriptions of all drugs made by the targeted practitioner, registered in the electronic database of prescriptions of the INSSJP-PAMI, during the 6 months after the intervention started	—

Secondary

Measure	Time frame
1. Annual monetary savings attributable to the intervention at the national level. This number corresponds to the total estimated 1-year benefit minus the total estimated cost of the intervention. The total estimated 1-year benefit is projected as the product between the total number of physicians included in the study in both groups and the benefit per-physician/year (Treatment effect x Number of items prescribed by an average physician in the control group during 1 year x Direct average price of each item [in U$S], according to the registers of the INSSJP-PAMI). Total estimated cost corresponds to the salary of a public servant for two full-time weeks of work dedicated to intervention-related tasks according to national statistics (measured 6 months after the start of the intervention) 2. Qualitative perceptions of the participants regarding the intervention, assessed through a brief ad hoc survey to the intervention arm participants at the end of the study (6 months after the start of the intervention)	—

Measure

Time frame

1. Annual monetary savings attributable to the intervention at the national level. This number corresponds to the total estimated 1-year benefit minus the total estimated cost of the intervention. The total estimated 1-year benefit is projected as the product between the total number of physicians included in the study in both groups and the benefit per-physician/year (Treatment effect x Number of items prescribed by an average physician in the control group during 1 year x Direct average price of each item [in U$S], according to the registers of the INSSJP-PAMI). Total estimated cost corresponds to the salary of a public servant for two full-time weeks of work dedicated to intervention-related tasks according to national statistics (measured 6 months after the start of the intervention) 2. Qualitative perceptions of the participants regarding the intervention, assessed through a brief ad hoc survey to the intervention arm participants at the end of the study (6 months after the start of the intervention)

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Countries

Argentina

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ISRCTN (via WHO ICTRP) · Data processed: Feb 16, 2026