De-prescribing Program to Evaluate Falls in Older Adults

Opioid-Related Disorders Clinical Trial

Official title:

Implementation of a De-prescribing Medication Program to Evaluate Falls in Older Adults

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Completed

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT04272671
• Other study ID #: 18-2920
• Secondary ID: CE 18-004
• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Start date: February 26, 2020
• Est. completion date: October 1, 2021

Study information

• Verified date: January 2022
• Source: University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
• Contact: n/a
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Study type: Interventional

Clinical Trial Summary

Purpose: The proposed study will implement and evaluate the effect of an opioid and benzodiazepine (BZD) de-prescribing intervention on falls risk in older adults.

Participants: Outpatient clinics with older adult patients, healthcare providers, older adult patients

Procedures (methods): In this proposed study, there will be 10 primary care clinics randomly assigned to the intervention arm and 10 primary care clinics randomly assigned to the control arm. In the first phase of this study, patient and provider focus groups will be used to inform the development of the intervention which will be tested during the active trial phase. The intervention has the following components: 1) alerts given to providers to identify patients taking opioids or benzodiazepines (BZD) and therefore at risk for falls; 2) educational materials to inform providers on best practices for de-prescribing opioids and BZDs in patients at risk; and 3) recommendations on de-prescribing provided by a consultant pharmacist. Impact of the intervention will be evaluated using pre-post surveys evaluating changes in providers' knowledge, confidence, and skills as well as information from the electronic health record (EHR) to evaluate impact of the intervention on de-prescribing opioids and BZDs.

Description:

Falls among older adults is costly and dangerous. Observational studies show consistent associations between falls and certain medications. It is widely accepted that falls-related morbidity and mortality could be reduced if systems were in place to identify falls risks and intervene to reduce the risks identified. In this study, health care professionals (HCPs) within UNC outpatient clinics will be alerted to patients on high-risk medications and provide team-based interventions to maximize the success of falls education and medication deprescribing.

This deprescribing intervention will focus specifically on opioids and benzodiazepines (BZDs) in patients 65 years of age and older since these medications have high susceptibility to negative cognitive effects in older adults and contribute to a higher risk of falls. This study will identify factors affecting the adoption, effective implementation, and maintenance of a deprescribing program focused on opioids and BZDs with the intent of reducing falls.

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Completed
• Enrollment: 15
• Est. completion date: October 1, 2021
• Est. primary completion date: October 1, 2021
• Accepts healthy volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers
• Gender: All
• Age group: 65 Years and older

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

• UNC HealthCare clinic providing primary care services

• age at least 65 years old

• taking at least one chronic opioid or one chronic benzodiazepine medication

Exclusion Criteria:

• Clinics that do not provided primary care services

• Patients who exhibit signs of cognitive impairment or speech/hearing deficits that make obtaining informed consent and completing data collection activities difficult

• Patients undergoing active cancer treatment, receiving hospice care, or living in a skilled nursing facility

• Non-English speaking patients will be excluded from participating in the patient focus group.

• Participants who do not wish to be audio-recorded during focus group

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Benzodiazepine-Related Disorders
• Disease
• Falls Injury
• Opioid-Related Disorders

Intervention

Other:
• Educational Intervention
The intervention has the following components: 1) alerts given to providers to identify patients taking opioids or benzodiazepines (BZD) and therefore at risk for falls; 2) educational materials to inform providers on best practices for de-prescribing opioids and BZDs in patients at risk; and 3) recommendations on de-prescribing provided by a consultant pharmacist. Impact of the intervention will be evaluated using pre-post surveys evaluating changes in providers' knowledge, confidence, and skills as well as information from the EHR to evaluate impact of the intervention on de-prescribing opioids and BZDs.

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
United States	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill	Chapel Hill	North Carolina

Sponsors (2)

Lead Sponsor	Collaborator
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill	Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Country where clinical trial is conducted

United States, 

Outcome

Type	Measure	Description	Time frame	Safety issue
Primary	Changes in Opioid and/or BZD use	Changes in opioid use will be measured using milligram morphine equivalents per day and benzodiazepine use will be measure using lorazepam or diazepam equivalents per day	1 year pre-intervention, 1 year post intervention
Secondary	Frequency of Falls	evaluating the educational impact on opioid and BZD deprescribing in relation to falls looking at the rate of falls 1 year per-intervention and the rate at completion of the study	1 year pre-intervention, 1 year post intervention