[Improving drug prescription in primary care: a controlled and randomized study of an educational method]

The aim of the present study was to assess whether educational intervention on the primary care physician may be an effective method to improve drug prescription.

An experimental randomized controlled study was carried out in 244 physicians of the management area No. 5 of the Institut Català de la Salut. Intervention consisted in 3 individualized interviews with the 123 physicians of the study group (IG), during which written informative material was also presented. The issues were: cerebral and peripheral vasodilators (CPVD) and antibiotics. The changes in the prescription of CPVD, combination of anti-infective agents with expectorants, mucolytics and/or balsamics (R05C1) and cephalosporins were specially evaluated in both groups. Subsequently, a stratified analysis was carried out depending on the volume of prescription of the physicians.

The IG showed a greater reduction in the prescription of CPVD (9.78 bottles per physicians and months versus 6.43, p less than 0.01). The relative reduction in R05C1 prescription was also higher in the IG (12.3% versus 6.7%, p less than 0.01). The expenditure showed similar results. The use of oral cephalosporins increased in the IG and was reduced in the CG (p less than 0.01).

The results show a favorable impact of personalized information in the groups with high prescription volume, which is particularly remarkable in the highest prescribers.