Table 4.
Prevalence of prescription and monitoring problems at 12 months' follow-up by allocation group
| Patient characteristics | Simple feedback | PINCER | Adjusted odds ratio*(95% CI) | ICC | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Primary outcomes | |||||
| 1 | History of peptic ulcer prescribed an NSAID without a PPI/history of peptic ulcer without a PPI | 78/2035 (4%) | 61/1852 (3%) | 0·91 (0·59–1·39) | 6·54×10−7 |
| 2 | Asthma prescribed a β blocker/asthma | 692/23 520 (3%) | 545/21 359 (3%) | 0·78 (0·63–0·97) | 0·008 |
| 3 | Aged ≥75 years receiving long-term ACE inhibitors or loop diuretics without urea and electrolyte monitoring in the previous 15 months/aged ≥75 years receiving long-term ACE inhibitors or diuretics | 452/5813 (8%) | 306/5242 (6%) | 0·63 (0·41–0·95) | 0·13 |
| Secondary outcome measures | |||||
| 2a | Asthma and not CHD prescribed a β blocker/asthma and not CHD | 414/22 294 (2%) | 326/20 283 (2%) | 0·79 (0·62–1·02) | 0·009 |
| 4 | History of venous or arterial thrombosis prescribed combined oral contraceptives/history of venous or arterial thrombosis (women) | 15/2987 (1%) | 4/2640 (<1%) | 0·57 (0·05–6·17) | 0·24 |
| 5a | Methotrexate for ≥3 months without full blood count in past 3 months/methotrexate for ≥3 months | 194/552 (35%) | 130/531 (24%) | 0·51 (0·27–0·99) | 0·22 |
| 5b | Methotrexate for ≥3 months without a liver function test in past 3 months/methotrexate for ≥3 months | 186/552 (34%) | 134/531 (25%) | 0·50 (0·28–0·91)† | 0·16 |
| 6 | Warfarin for ≥3 months without an INR in past 3 months/warfarin for ≥3 months | 69/1752 (4%) | 76/1877 (4%) | 0·98 (0·52–1·85) | 0·10 |
| 7 | Lithium for ≥3 months without a lithium concentration measurement in past 3 months/lithium for ≥3 months | 88/213 (41%) | 56/176 (32%) | 0·50 (0·29–0·85) | 0·02 |
| 8 | Amiodarone for ≥6 months without a thyroid function test in the past 6 months/amiodarone for ≥6 months | 92/247 (37%) | 80/233 (34%) | 0·77 (0·41–1·43) | 0·11 |
| 9 | Methotrexate without instructions to take weekly/patients prescribed methotrexate | 13/309 (4%) | 0/271 (0%) | Not calculable | .. |
| 10 | Amiodarone for ≥1 month at a dose of >200 mg per day/amiodarone for ≥1 month | 1/231 (<1%) | 1/232 (<1%) | 0·95 (0·06–15·45)‡ | 1·07×10−5 |
| 11 | At least one prescription problem/at risk of at least one prescription problem | 785/27 808 (3%) | 610/25 246 (2%) | 0·78 (0·64–0·94) | 0·01 |
| 12 | At least one monitoring problem/at risk of at least one monitoring problem | 901/8011 (11%) | 652/7449 (9%) | 0·64 (0·51–0·82)† | 0·05 |
Data are numerator/denominator (%), unless otherwise stated. Number of patients does not equal the sum of the denominators in each group, because only those with baseline and follow-up data are included. PINCER=pharmacist-led information technology intervention. NSAID=non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug. ACE=angiotensin converting enzyme. PPI=proton-pump inhibitor. CHD=coronary heart disease. INR=international normalised ratio. ICC=intraclass correlation coefficients.
Adjusted for randomisation stratum, baseline prevalence of errors, deprivation, and training status unless otherwise stated.
Includes interaction between treatment group and covariate dichotomised at the median value (≤median vs >median).
Adjustment for other variables not calculable.