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A benzodiazepine discontinuation programme does not increase the frequency of contacts with the family practice
Wim Gorgels1, Richard Oude Voshaar, Audrey Mol
1Department of Primary Care, Centre of Evidence Based Medicine (EBP), Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre, the Netherlands. W.Gorgels@hag.umcn.nl
Objective:
The efficacy of programmes to reduce long-term benzodiazepine use could be compromised by subsequent increases in contacts with the family practice. In this study the hypothesis was tested as to whether participation in a benzodiazepine discontinuation programme affects the frequency of contacts with the family practice.
Design:
A controlled stepped-care intervention programme to decrease long-term benzodiazepine use.
Setting:
Family practices in the Netherlands. Subjects. The experimental group consisted of 996 long-term benzodiazepine users and a control group of 883 long-term benzodiazepine users.
Main Outcome Measures:
Practice contacts before and up to 12 months after the start of the programme.
Results:
There was a general tendency visible for contacts to decrease during the follow-up time. The course of the number of contacts during the follow-up was not different for the experimental and control groups (p=0.45). The level of non-benzodiazepine prescriptions was generally not altered. The number of non-benzodiazepine prescriptions decreased in benzodiazepine quitters during the follow-up of the programme.
Conclusion:
No clinically important differences in practice contacts were observed when the course of the number of contacts and non-benzodiazepine prescriptions were compared between the experimental and control groups. Family practitioners do not have to anticipate an increased workload associated with participation in such a benzodiazepine discontinuation programme.
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