Safer Prescribing and Care for the Elderly (SPACE): Protocol of a Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial in Primary Care

High-risk prescribing, adverse drug events, and avoidable adverse drug event hospitalizations are common. The single greatest risk factor for high-risk prescribing and adverse drug events is the number of medications a person is taking. More people are living longer and taking more medications for multiple long-term conditions. Most on-going prescribing occurs in primary care. The most effective, cost-effective, and practical approach to safer prescribing in primary care is not yet known.

To test the effect of the Safer Prescribing And Care for the Elderly (SPACE) intervention on high-risk prescribing of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory and antiplatelet medicines, and related adverse drug event hospitalizations.

This is a protocol of a cluster randomized controlled trial. The clusters will be primary care practices. Data collection and analysis will be at the level of patient.

Recruitment started in 2018. Six-month data collection will be in 2018.

This study addresses an important translational gap, testing an intervention designed to prompt medicines review and support safer prescribing in routine primary care practice.

Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry: ACTRN12618000034235 http://www.ANZCTR.org.au/ACTRN12618000034235.aspx (Archived with Webcite at http://www.webcitation.org/6yj9RImDf)