Can Diagnostics and Pharmacological Prescriptions in Patients With Heart Failure be Improved in General Practice?

Heart Failure Clinical Trial

Official title:

Can Diagnostics and Pharmacological Prescriptions in Patients With Heart Failure be Improved? A Cluster Randomised Educational Intervention in General Practice. A Study Protocol.

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Withdrawn

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT01476566
• Other study ID #: KTV-3
• Status: Withdrawn
• Phase: N/A
• Start date: January 2013
• Est. completion date: January 2013

Study information

• Verified date: February 2024
• Source: University of Oslo
• Contact: n/a
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Study type: Interventional

Clinical Trial Summary

This study will explore the possible effect of a tailored educational intervention towards general practitioners in Norway, in order to improve the quality of treatment for heart failure in general practice.

Description:

Chronic heart failure (HF) is a syndrome with a poor prognosis and with a prevalence increasing steeply by patients' age. Studies indicate that there are large potentials for improving general practitioners' diagnosis and management of HF. We have designed an educational intervention aiming at improving GPs' diagnosis and management of HF.

Peer continuous medical education (CME) groups in general practice will be recruited to a cluster randomised educational intervention study. Participating groups will be randomised either to an intervention- or a control group. A multifaceted intervention has been tailored where key components are educational outreach visits (EOV) to the CME-groups, audit, and feedback. Trained GPs will conduct the EOVs during which evidence-based recommendations for diagnosis and treatment of HF will be presented. A software will be handed out for installation on participants' practice computers, enabling collection of diagnosis- and prescription-data. The captured data will subsequently be linked to corresponding data from the Norwegian Prescription Database (NorPD). Individual feedback reports will be sent each participant in the beginning and at the end of the study. Main outcomes measure is the proportion of HF patients prescribed an ACE-inhibitor (or an angiotensine receptor blocker) and a betablocker in combination. Baseline data will provide material for a descriptive, cross sectional study. Patient related outcomes in terms of HF-hospital admissions and all cause mortality will be obtained by record linkage with NorPD and the Norwegian Patient Registry. Included in the intervention group is also a sub-study using a pop-up programme to facilitate disclosure of non-diagnosed HF patients in own practice. Finally, we plan a questionnaire study (among GPs in intervention group and their HF-patients) to get more knowledge regarding diagnostic workup, quality of care, non-pharmacological issues, and chronic care management of HF.

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Withdrawn
• Enrollment: 0
• Est. completion date: January 2013
• Est. primary completion date: January 2013
• Accepts healthy volunteers: No
• Gender: All
• Age group: N/A and older

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

• General practitioner

• Specialist in general practice

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Heart Failure

Intervention

Behavioral:
• Educational intervention
Peer continuous medical education (CME) groups in general practice will be recruited to a cluster randomised educational intervention study. Participating groups will be randomised either to an intervention- or a control group. A multifaceted intervention has been tailored where key components are educational outreach visits (EOV) to the CME-groups, audit, and feedback. Trained GPs will conduct the EOVs during which evidence-based recommendations for diagnosis and treatment of HF will be presented. A software will be handed out for installation on participants' practice computers, enabling collection of diagnosis- and prescription-data. The captured data will subsequently be linked to corresponding data from the Norwegian Prescription Database (NorPD).

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
n/a

Sponsors (1)

Lead Sponsor	Collaborator
University of Oslo

Outcome

Type	Measure	Description	Time frame	Safety issue
Primary	Whether drug-treatment of heart failure will be more adherent to guidelines after an educational intervention towards general practitioners (GPs).	The proportion of heart failure-patients receiving treatment with an angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor (ACE-I) or an angiotensin-2 receptor blocker (ARB) and a beta-blocker (BB) before and after an educatopnal intervention.	1 year
Secondary	Hospital admissions and mortality	Differences in heart failure-related hospital admissions and all cause mortality between intervention group and control group.	1 year