The 12 remaining studies across all musculoskeletal conditions showed little or no improvement in GP behaviour and patient outcomes .The direction of the targeted behaviour ( i.e. increasing or decreasing a behaviour ) does not seem to affect the effectiveness of an intervention .
There is good- quality evidence that a GP alerting system with or without patient-directed education on osteoporosis improves guideline -consistent GP behaviour , result ing in better diagnosis and treatment rates .
Interventions such as GP reminder messages and GP feedback on performance combined with guideline dissemination may lead to small improvements in guideline -consistent GP behaviour with regard to low back pain , while GP education on osteoarthritis pain and the use of educationally influential physicians may lead to slight improvement in patient outcomes and guideline -consistent behaviour respectively .
BACKGROUND Musculoskeletal conditions require particular management skills .
Identification of interventions which are effective in equipping general practitioners ( GPs ) with such necessary skills could translate to improved health outcomes for patients and reduced healthcare and societal costs .
OBJECTIVES To determine the effectiveness of professional interventions for GPs  that aim to improve the management of musculoskeletal conditions in primary care .
We investigated whether the direction of the targeted behavioural change affects the effectiveness of interventions .
Closing the gap in postfracture care at the population level: a randomized controlled trial
Background : Postfracture care is suboptimal , and strategies to address this major gap in care are necessary . We investigated whether notifications sent by mail to physicians and patients would lead to improved postfracture care . Methods : We conducted a r and omized controlled trial ( Clinical Trials.gov identifier NCT00594789 ) in the province of Manitoba , Canada , from June 2008 to May 2010 . Using medical cl aims data , we identified 4264 men and women age 50 years or older who recently reported major fractures , and who had not undergone recent bone mineral density testing or treatment for osteoporosis . Participants were r and omized to three groups : group 1 received usual care ( n = 1480 ) , patients in group 2 had mailed notification of the fracture sent to their primary care physicians ( n = 1363 ) , and group 3 had notifications sent to both physicians and patients ( n = 1421 ) . Bone mineral density testing and the start of pharmacologic treatment for osteoporosis within the following 12 months were documented . Results : Among participants in group 1 ( usual care ) , 15.8 % of women and 7.6 % of men underwent testing for bone mineral density or started pharmacologic treatment for osteoporosis . Outcome measures improved among participants in group 2 ( 30.3 % of women and 19.0 % of men , both p < 0.001 ) and group 3 ( 34.0 % of women and 19.8 % of men , both p < 0.001 ) . No additional benefit was seen with patient notification in addition to physician notification . Combining groups 2 and 3 , the absolute increase for the combined end point of bone mineral density testing or pharmacologic treatment was 14.9 % ( 16.4 % among women , 11.8 % among men ) . The number needed to notify to change patient care was 7 ( 6 for women , 6 for men ) . The adjusted odds ratio ( OR ) to change patient care in group 2 was 2.45 ( 95 % confidence interval [ CI ] 2.01–2.98 ) ; for group 3 the OR was 2.82 ( 95 % CI 2.33–3.43 ) . Interpretation : This notification system provides a relatively simple way to enhance post-fracture care
The 12 remaining studies across all musculoskeletal conditions showed little or no improvement in GP behaviour and patient outcomes .The direction of the targeted behaviour ( i.e. increasing or decreasing a behaviour ) does not seem to affect the effectiveness of an intervention .
There is good- quality evidence that a GP alerting system with or without patient-directed education on osteoporosis improves guideline -consistent GP behaviour , result ing in better diagnosis and treatment rates .
Interventions such as GP reminder messages and GP feedback on performance combined with guideline dissemination may lead to small improvements in guideline -consistent GP behaviour with regard to low back pain , while GP education on osteoarthritis pain and the use of educationally influential physicians may lead to slight improvement in patient outcomes and guideline -consistent behaviour respectively .
BACKGROUND Musculoskeletal conditions require particular management skills .
Identification of interventions which are effective in equipping general practitioners ( GPs ) with such necessary skills could translate to improved health outcomes for patients and reduced healthcare and societal costs .
OBJECTIVES To determine the effectiveness of professional interventions for GPs  that aim to improve the management of musculoskeletal conditions in primary care .
We investigated whether the direction of the targeted behavioural change affects the effectiveness of interventions .