Table 2.
Availability of evidence or information on primary care interventions
| Intervention | Availability of information
|
Comments | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Relative risk reduction | Absolute risk reduction | % of patients eligible | Current uptake rate in those eligible | Cost effectiveness | Risk reduction translated to improved health outcome at population level | ||
| Aspirin for patients at high risk of coronary or ischaemic cerebrovascular events | fYes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Further details in tables 3 and 4 |
| Control of hypertension | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Further details in tables 3 and 4 |
| Advice on stopping smoking or nicotine replacement therapy | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Further details in tables 3 and 4 |
| Angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors for patients with heart failure | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Further details in tables 3 and 4 |
| Statins for patients at high risk of coronary heart disease (secondary prevention) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Further details in tables 3 and 4 |
| Statins for patients at low risk of coronary heart disease (primary prevention) | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Further details in tables 3 and 4 |
| Warfarin for stroke prophylaxis in non-valvular atrial fibrillation | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Further details in tables 3 and 4 |
| Influenza vaccination for those aged >65 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Further details in tables 3 and 4 |
| Diabetes care | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Diabetes care in general practice can achieve standards of care equivalent to or better than hospital outpatient care but does not lead to reduced mortality or hospital admissions.17 Difficult to translate other reported end points such as glycaemic control and losses to follow up into outcomes such as non-fatal events |
| Cervical screening | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Observational data suggest that cervical screening programmes are effective. Difficult to translate such observational data into relative and absolute risk reductions |
| Brief interventions to reduce alcohol consumption | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Unable to translate evidence on efficacy in reducing alcohol consumption18 into improved health outcomes (fatal and non-fatal events) at population level |
| Contraceptive prescribing with family planning advice | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Experimental and observational evidence of relative effectiveness of different contraceptives. Difficult to translate such data into relative and absolute risk reductions between users and non-users |
| Immunisations (except against influenza in elderly) | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Observational data strongly suggest that immunisation programmes are effective.19 Difficult to translate such observational data into relative and absolute risk reductions |
| Treatment of obesity in adults | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Unable to translate evidence of efficacy in reducing weight20 into improved health outcomes (fatal and non-fatal events) at population level |
Yes=evidence or information readily available. No=evidence or information not readily available.