Prescription of Benzodiazepines by General Practitioners: Characteristics of Prescribing Trend and Implementation of an Online Educational Program
1 other identifier
interventional
110
1 country
1
Brief Summary
Portugal has the highest benzodiazepine utilization compared to other European countries. The high utilization of benzodiazepines has been a concern due to reported side effects of long-term use and dependence. Also, these data demonstrate that doctors are possibly choosing an inadequate treatment to manage anxious and depressive syndromes. This research aims to develop and implement in primary health care units an online educational program, following a cluster randomized study design; to study the impact of this educational program for changing general practitioner's benzodiazepine prescription pattern; to analyze of barriers and facilitators to the implementation of the e-PrimaPrescribe program.
Trial Health
Trial Health Score
Automated assessment based on enrollment pace, timeline, and geographic reach
participants targeted
Target at P50-P75 for not_applicable anxiety
Started Mar 2017
Typical duration for not_applicable anxiety
1 active site
Health score is calculated from publicly available data and should be used for screening purposes only.
Trial Relationships
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Study Timeline
Key milestones and dates
Study Start
First participant enrolled
March 1, 2017
CompletedPrimary Completion
Last participant's last visit for primary outcome
May 15, 2017
CompletedStudy Completion
Last participant's last visit for all outcomes
April 9, 2019
CompletedFirst Submitted
Initial submission to the registry
April 10, 2019
CompletedFirst Posted
Study publicly available on registry
June 14, 2021
CompletedJune 14, 2021
June 1, 2021
3 months
April 10, 2019
June 7, 2021
Conditions
Keywords
Outcome Measures
Primary Outcomes (1)
Change in the frequency of BZD prescriptions issued per month
Each prescription data was coded using an individual GP and patient numerical identification, in a secured and validated electronic database, directly extracted by the central Shared Services of the Portuguese Ministry of Health.
Change from baseline prescription to 6 months after intervention
Secondary Outcomes (3)
Change in the frequency of antidepressant prescriptions issued per month
Change from baseline prescription to 6 months after intervention
Change in the diagnosis registration frequency
Change from baseline prescription to 6 months after intervention
Change in the costs with BZD co-payment
Change from baseline prescription to 6 months after intervention
Study Arms (2)
Intervention
EXPERIMENTALgeneral practitioners randomized to intervention group will be given access to ePrimaPrescribe online program
Control
ACTIVE COMPARATORgeneral practitioners randomized to control group will be given access to an online program concerning doctor-patient communication
Interventions
online training program aiming to change general practitioners' benzodiazepine prescription
online training program aiming to improve general practitioners' communication with mentally ill patients
Eligibility Criteria
You may qualify if:
- Primary care units using the Portuguese online prescription tool (created by the Portuguese Shared Services of the Ministry of Health and Finance - SPMS)
You may not qualify if:
- Primary care units involved in another trial concerning mental health topics directly related with the subject of this thesis
Contact the study team to confirm eligibility.
Sponsors & Collaborators
Study Sites (1)
Faculdade Ciências Médicas Universidade Nova de Lisboa - Nova Medical School
Lisbon, Portugal
Related Publications (1)
Reis T, Faria I, Serra H, Xavier M. Barriers and facilitators to implementing a continuing medical education intervention in a primary health care setting. BMC Health Serv Res. 2022 May 13;22(1):638. doi: 10.1186/s12913-022-08019-w.
PMID: 35562695DERIVED
MeSH Terms
Conditions
Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)
Study Officials
- PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
Teresa Reis, Md
Universidade Nova de Lisboa
Study Design
- Study Type
- interventional
- Phase
- not applicable
- Allocation
- RANDOMIZED
- Masking
- SINGLE
- Who Masked
- PARTICIPANT
- Purpose
- HEALTH SERVICES RESEARCH
- Intervention Model
- PARALLEL
- Sponsor Type
- OTHER
- Responsible Party
- SPONSOR
Study Record Dates
First Submitted
April 10, 2019
First Posted
June 14, 2021
Study Start
March 1, 2017
Primary Completion
May 15, 2017
Study Completion
April 9, 2019
Last Updated
June 14, 2021
Record last verified: 2021-06