NCT06470308

Prescribing Outcomes of a GP-Targeted Deprescribing Educational Intervention: A Cluster Randomized Trial

Prescribing Outcomes of a General Practitioner-Targeted Deprescribing Educational Intervention in Older Adults With Polypharmacy: A Cluster Randomized Trial

• Status: Active Not Recruiting
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 200 (estimated)
• Sponsor: University of Crete · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 65 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

Polypharmacy is a common and growing public health concern across healthcare settings worldwide and is associated with an increased risk of inappropriate prescribing and adverse drug events. Deprescribing-defined as the supervised withdrawal of potentially inappropriate medications using structured tools and clinical judgment-has been proposed as a strategy to improve prescribing safety. In Greece, formal initiatives and evidence evaluating deprescribing interventions in primary care remain limited. This study is a cluster randomized controlled trial evaluating the effect of an educational intervention for general practitioners (GPs) on prescribing safety in primary care. Participating GPs are randomized in an approximately 1:1 ratio to an intervention or control arm. GPs in the intervention arm receive structured education and training on medication review and deprescribing, including the use of validated deprescribing tools such as the Beers Criteria. GPs in the control arm provide usual care and do not receive any educational intervention. Patients receiving care from participating GPs are recruited, and prescribing outcomes are assessed at the patient level. The primary outcome is change in prescription medications following the intervention, comparing patients cared for by GPs in the intervention arm versus those cared for by GPs in the control arm.

Conditions

• Medication Overuse
• Deprescriptions
• Polypharmacy
• Frailty Syndrome

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
OTHER	Medication Reviews and Deprescribing	General Practitioners will be given training and education in deprescribing algorithms and the conduction of medication reviews with the use of validated deprescribing tools such as the Beers Criteria.

Timeline

• Start date: 2024-11-18
• Primary completion: 2025-12-30
• Completion: 2026-03-01
• First posted: 2024-06-24
• Last updated: 2026-02-09

Locations

1 site across 1 country: Greece