The MultimorbiditY COllaborative Medication Review And DEcision Making (MyComrade) study: a protocol for a...

Area of Science:

• Primary Care Research
• Health Services Research
• Clinical Pharmacy

Background:

• International guidelines advocate for medication reviews in multimorbidity management.
• Evidence on practical implementation of medication reviews in primary care is limited.
• The MyComrade intervention is designed to support medication reviews for multimorbidity in primary care.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the feasibility of a trial for the MyComrade intervention.
• To assess the intervention's adaptability to variations in two health systems (ROI and NI).
• To inform the design and progression to a definitive trial.

Main Methods:

• Pilot cluster randomised controlled trial with mixed-methods process evaluation.
• 16 primary care practices (8 ROI, 8 NI) recruited; 4 per jurisdiction randomised.
• MyComrade intervention delivered by GP pairs (ROI) or GP/pharmacist teams (NI); usual care in control arm.
• Data collection via EHRs, questionnaires, and qualitative interviews with stakeholders.
• Feasibility of health economic evaluation assessed.

Main Results:

• Pilot study findings will assess trial feasibility and progression criteria.
• Intervention acceptability and patient/provider experiences will be explored.
• Contextual variations' impact on implementation will be evaluated.

Conclusions:

• The study will determine the feasibility of a definitive trial for the MyComrade intervention.
• Findings will inform future trial design and intervention refinement.
• Contributes to evidence on intervention development and feasibility studies in primary care.