OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the impact of feedback on the prescribing of antibiotics supplementary to clinical guidelines in the treatment of respiratory tract infections. DESIGN: Randomised, controlled trial with GPs allocated to one of two groups. The first group received clinical guidelines on the treatment of respiratory tract infections plus postal feedback with aggregated data on their prescribing patterns for antibiotics. The second group served as controls for the first group and received the guidelines only. SETTING:299 GPs representing 181 practices with 455,843 listed patients in the County of Funen, Denmark. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Effects on GP prescribing patterns were measured by means of a prescription database and followed for a period of 2 years with 2 outcome measures: 1) the antibiotic prescription rate and 2) the fraction of prescriptions for narrow-spectrum antibiotics. RESULTS: The addition of feedback had no impact on GP prescribing patterns. CONCLUSION: Postal disseminated prescriber feedback in addition to a clinical guideline on the diagnosis and treatment of respiratory tract infections does not influence GP prescribing patterns. Interventions aimed at improving performance in general practice should go beyond just giving GPs information on whether they are living up to standards.
RCT Entities:
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the impact of feedback on the prescribing of antibiotics supplementary to clinical guidelines in the treatment of respiratory tract infections. DESIGN: Randomised, controlled trial with GPs allocated to one of two groups. The first group received clinical guidelines on the treatment of respiratory tract infections plus postal feedback with aggregated data on their prescribing patterns for antibiotics. The second group served as controls for the first group and received the guidelines only. SETTING: 299 GPs representing 181 practices with 455,843 listed patients in the County of Funen, Denmark. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Effects on GP prescribing patterns were measured by means of a prescription database and followed for a period of 2 years with 2 outcome measures: 1) the antibiotic prescription rate and 2) the fraction of prescriptions for narrow-spectrum antibiotics. RESULTS: The addition of feedback had no impact on GP prescribing patterns. CONCLUSION: Postal disseminated prescriber feedback in addition to a clinical guideline on the diagnosis and treatment of respiratory tract infections does not influence GP prescribing patterns. Interventions aimed at improving performance in general practice should go beyond just giving GPs information on whether they are living up to standards.
Authors: Torben Dybdahl; Jens Søndergaard; Jakob Kragstrup; Ivar Sønbø Kristiansen; Morten Andersen Journal: Scand J Prim Health Care Date: 2011-04-21 Impact factor: 2.581
Authors: Alike W van der Velden; Eefje J Pijpers; Marijke M Kuyvenhoven; Sarah K G Tonkin-Crine; Paul Little; Theo J M Verheij Journal: Br J Gen Pract Date: 2012-12 Impact factor: 5.386
Authors: Stephen D Persell; Mark W Friedberg; Daniella Meeker; Jeffrey A Linder; Craig R Fox; Noah J Goldstein; Parth D Shah; Tara K Knight; Jason N Doctor Journal: BMC Infect Dis Date: 2013-06-27 Impact factor: 3.090
Authors: Jasper Trietsch; Trudy van der Weijden; Wim Verstappen; Rob Janknegt; Paul Muijrers; Ron Winkens; Ben van Steenkiste; Richard Grol; Job Metsemakers Journal: Implement Sci Date: 2009-02-17 Impact factor: 7.327