Clinical trial NCT00509717: Implementation of a Pharmacy-Intervention to Enhance Prescription and Use of Lipid-Lowering Drugs
Official title: Implementation of a Pharmacy-Intervention to Enhance Prescription and Use of Lipid-Lowering Drugs. A Randomized Trial.
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Phase: NA
Conditions: Cardiovascular Diseases
Keywords: quality of health care
prescriptions, drug
anticholesteremic agents
community pharmacy services
Lead sponsor: Radboud University Medical Center
Sponsor class: OTHER
Collaborators: name: Zorgverzekeraar CZ
name: Scientific Institute for Dutch Pharmacists, The Netherlands
First posted: 2007-07-31
Enrollment: 70
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 18
Standard ages: ADULT
OLDER_ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: no
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: PARALLEL
Primary purpose: HEALTH_SERVICES_RESEARCH

Brief summary: The purpose of this study is to determine the effectiveness of maximal support of community pharmacies to implement a pharmaceutical care model for improving underprescription and treatment persistence regarding lipid-lowering medication in patients with cardiovascular disease.

Detailed description: Cardiovascular disease is the main cause of death in large parts of the world. Next to life style changes, pharmaceutical treatment is a keystone in the treatment of cardiovascular disease. Despite the strong evidence for the effectiveness of lipid-lowering therapy, less than half of the people eligible are treated. With specific medication searches in the community pharmacy database, an easy tool for detecting patients who are undertreated is available. Based on this tool, a pharmaceutical care model for improving underprescription and treatment persistence regarding lipid-lowering medication in patients with cardiovascular disease was constructed.

Moreover, it is not known yet how to implement this pharmaceutical care model in community pharmacies effectively. With multifaceted interventions the behaviour of health professionals can be changed. In this study the effectiveness of a maximal support strategy, including interactive educational meetings, reminders, audit and feedback, is compared to a minimal implementation strategy.

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* pharmacies: resident in the south of the Netherlands
* patients: with antiplatelet therapy and without lipid-lowering medication

Exclusion Criteria:for patients:

* terminal disease
* severe mental disorder

Primary outcomes:
measure: The percentage of selected (=undertreated) patients receiving at least one prescription for lipid-lowering medication.
timeFrame: six months after the general practitioner received the list with selected patients
Secondary outcomes:
measure: Differences in prescribing for age categories and co-medication.
timeFrame: six months
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Nijmegen
country: Netherlands
facility: UMC St Radboud, Scientific Institute for Quality of Healthcare
state: NL
Study officials:
affiliation: Radboud University Medical Center
name: Peter G. de Smet, PhD
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
affiliation: Scientific Institute for Quality of Healthcare
name: Michel Wensing, PhD
role: STUDY_DIRECTOR
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