Cooperation between geriatricians and general practitioners for improved pharmacotherapy in home-dwelling elderly people receiving polypharmacy - the COOP Study : study protocol for a cluster randomised controlled trial

Background: Polypharmacy and inappropriate drug use is associated with negative health outcomes among older people. Various interventions for improving drug treatment have been evaluated, but the majority of studies are limited by the use of surrogate outcomes or suboptimal design. Thus, the potential for clinically significant improvements from different interventions is still unclear. The main objective of this study is therefore to evaluate the effect upon patient-relevant endpoints of a cooperation between geriatricians and general practitioners on complex drug regimens in home-dwelling elderly people. Methods: This is a cluster randomised, single-blind, controlled trial where general practitioners are invited to participate with patients from their lists. The patients must be 70 years or older, use at least seven different medications and have their medications administered by the home nursing service. We plan to recruit 200 patients, with randomisation at physician level. The intervention consists of three main parts: ( 1) clinical geriatric assessment of the patient, combined with a thorough review of their medications; ( 2) a meeting between the geriatrician and general practitioner, where the two physicians combine their competence and knowledge and discuss the drug list systematically; ( 3) clinical follow-up, depending on the medication changes that have been done. The study period is 24 weeks, and the patients are assessed at baseline, 16 and 24 weeks. The primary outcome measure is health-related quality of life according to the 15D instrument. Secondary outcome measures include physical and cognitive functioning, medication appropriateness, falls, carer burden, use of health services ( hospital or nursing home admissions, use of home nursing services) and mortality. Discussion: Our choice of patient-relevant outcome measures will hopefully provide new knowledge on the potential for clinical improvements after performing comprehensive medication reviews in home-dwelling elderly people receiving polypharmacy.Peer reviewe

Effect of Clinical Geriatric Assessments and Collaborative Medication Reviews by Geriatrician and Family Physician for Improving Health-Related Quality of Life in Home-Dwelling Older Patients Receiving Polypharmacy: A Cluster Randomized Clinical Trial.

IMPORTANCE Polypharmacy and inappropriate drug regimens are major health concerns among older adults. Various interventions focused on medication optimization strategies have been carried out, but the effect on patient-relevant outcomes remains uncertain. Objective To investigate the effect of clinical geriatric assessments and collaborative medication reviews by geriatrician and family physician (FP) on health-related quality of life and other patient-relevant outcomes in home-dwelling older patients receiving polypharmacy. Design, Setting, and Participants Cluster randomized, single-blind, clinical trial. Norwegian FPs were recruited from March 17, 2015, to March 16, 2017, to participate in the trial with their eligible patients. Participants were home-dwelling patients 70 years or older, using at least 7 medications regularly, and having their medications administered by the home nursing service. Patients in the control group received usual care. Randomization occurred at the FP level. A modified intent-to-treat analysis was used. Intervention The intervention consisted of 3 main parts: (1) clinical geriatric assessment of the patients combined with a thorough review of their medications; (2) a meeting between the geriatrician and the FP; and (3) clinical follow-up. Main Outcomes and Measures The primary outcome was health-related quality of life as assessed by the 15D instrument (score range, 0-1; higher scores indicate better quality of life, with a minimum clinically important change of +/- 0.015) at week 16. Secondary outcomes included changes in medication appropriateness, physical and cognitive functioning, use of health services, and mortality. Results Among 174 patients (mean [SD] age, 83.3 [7.3] years; 67.8% women; 87 randomized to the intervention group and 87 randomized to the control [usual care] group) in 70 FP clusters (36 intervention and 34 control), 158 (90.8%) completed the trial. The mean (SD) 15D instrument score at baseline was 0.708 (0.121) in the intervention group and 0.714 (0.113) in the control group. At week 16, the mean (SD) 15D instrument score was 0.698 (0.164) in the intervention group and 0.655 (0.184) in the control group, with an estimated between-group difference of 0.045 (95% CI, 0.004-0.086; P = .03). Several secondary outcomes were also in favor of the intervention. There were more drug withdrawals, reduced dosages, and new drug regimens started in the intervention group. Conclusions and Relevance This study's findings indicate that, among older patients exposed to polypharmacy, clinical geriatric assessments and collaborative medication reviews carried out by a geriatrician in cooperation with the patient's FP can result in positive effects on health-related quality of life.Peer reviewe

General practitioners’ prescriptions of benzodiazepines, Z-hypnotics and opioid analgesics for elderly patients during direct and indirect contacts. A cross-sectional, observational study

Objective: To describe Norwegian general practitioners’ (GPs’) prescription patterns of benzodiazepines, Z-hypnotics and opioid analgesics (BZO-drugs) to elderly (≥70 years) patients. Design, subjects and setting: Cross sectional, observational study. Contact- and prescription data from 148 Norwegian GPs, issued for elderly patients during eight months in 2008. GP-patient contacts were categorized as direct contacts (DC: face-to-face consultations) or indirect contacts (IC: via third party, phone or mail). Explanatory variables were characteristics linked to the GPs, patients, and practices. During analyses, GPs’ number of listed patients, share of which for elderly patients, and total number of patient consultations during the period (proxy for practice activity), were categorized in quintiles (Q1–5) by number of GPs. Main outcome measures: Number of BZO-drug prescriptions and quantities issued during direct- and indirect GP-patient contacts. Results: In total, 62% of BZO-prescriptions were issued during ICs. Of all prescriptions, 66% were large quantum packages (50 tablets or more), 62% out of which were prescribed during ICs. During the study period, 50% of the patients received repeat prescriptions. Prescribing during ICs was associated with low over all practice activity (Q1) and many (Q5) older patients on the GP’s lists. Conclusion: GPs’ BZO-drug prescribing to elderly occur more frequently during ICs than within DCs, and are more commonly issued as large quantity packages. This indicates that regular- or long-term use among elderly is common, contrasting with previous and current national guidelines, which recommend regular clinical assessments and short time or intermittent use of BZO-drugs.Key Points GPs frequently prescribe benzodiazepines, Z-hypnotics and opioid (BZO) drugs for elderly people. BZO-drugs are frequently issued during indirect GP-patient contacts and in relatively large quantities, indicating regular or long-term use. GPs’ BZO-drug prescribing patterns contrast with national guidelines recommending clinical assessment and short time or intermittent use of BZO-drugs