Clinical Research Directory

Prescribing Outcomes of a GP-Targeted Deprescribing Educational Intervention: A Cluster Randomized Trial

Polypharmacy is a common and growing public health concern across healthcare settings worldwide and is associated with an increased risk of inappropriate prescribing and adverse drug events. Deprescribing-defined as the supervised withdrawal of potentially inappropriate medications using structured tools and clinical judgment-has been proposed as a strategy to improve prescribing safety. In Greece, formal initiatives and evidence evaluating deprescribing interventions in primary care remain limited. This study is a cluster randomized controlled trial evaluating the effect of an educational intervention for general practitioners (GPs) on prescribing safety in primary care. Participating GPs are randomized in an approximately 1:1 ratio to an intervention or control arm. GPs in the intervention arm receive structured education and training on medication review and deprescribing, including the use of validated deprescribing tools such as the Beers Criteria. GPs in the control arm provide usual care and do not receive any educational intervention. Patients receiving care from participating GPs are recruited, and prescribing outcomes are assessed at the patient level. The primary outcome is change in prescription medications following the intervention, comparing patients cared for by GPs in the intervention arm versus those cared for by GPs in the control arm.

Impact of Medications Review on Potentially Inappropriate Medications and Clinical Outcomes Among Hospitalized Older Adults

The goal of this randomized controlled trial is to assess the effectiveness of a pharmacist-led medication review using the locally developed Malaysian Potentially Inappropriate Prescribing Screening tool in Older Adults (MALPIP), an explicit criteria in hospitalized older adults. The main questions it aims to answer are: 1. The effectiveness of the intervention in reducing the number of PIMs and chronic medications after discharge 2. The impact of the intervention on quality of life, falls events, emergency department visits, readmissions and survivals Researchers will compare the control group to see if there is corresponding changes to the outcomes specified above.

Patient-centred Deprescribing of Psychotropic, Sedative and Anticholinergic Medication in Elderly Patients With Polypharmacy

The PARTNER study is a multicentre, two-arm, pragmatic cluster-randomised trial evaluating the impact of a focused and patient-centred cooperation between general practitioners (GPs) and community pharmacists (PARTNER intervention) on reductions in the use of psychotropic, sedative and anticholinergic potentially inappropriate medication (PSA-PIM) compared to a control intervention. The PARTNER intervention comprises (1) education for health care professionals, (2) an interprofessional workshop and case conference, (3) a pharmacy visit with brown bag/medication review and patient empowerment, (4) GP practice visit with shared decision making. The control intervention only comprises a pharmacy visit with brown bag review.