Table 2.
Baseline Characteristics of Practices and Patients in Intervention and Control Groups
| Characteristic | Intervention Group | Control Group |
|---|---|---|
| Practices | n = 11 | n = 10 |
| GMS list size, No. (%) | ||
| ≤500 | 1 (9.1) | 2 (20.0) |
| 501–1,500 | 3 (27.3) | 2 (20.0) |
| ≥1,501 | 7 (63.6) | 6 (60.0) |
| Have a manager, No. (%) | 8 (72.8) | 7 (70.0) |
| Location, No. (%) | ||
| Urbana | 8 (80.0) | 8 (72.7) |
| Mixed | 3 (20.0) | 2 (27.3) |
| GPs per practice, mean (SD) | 4.1 (3.1) | 4.1 (2.1) |
| Patients >70 years old per practice, mean (SD) | 712.1 (525.3) | 788.2 (987.2) |
| Deprivation score, median (IQR)b | 0.5 (–0.3 to 1.6) | 1.4 (0.3 to 2.4) |
| Patients | n = 99 | n = 97 |
| Male, No. (%) | 55 (55.6) | 50 (51.5) |
| Marital status, No. (%) | ||
| Married | 56 (56.6) | 51 (53.1) |
| Widowed | 26 (26.3) | 32 (33.3) |
| Single | 14 (14.1) | 10 (10.4) |
| GMS card holder, No. (%) | 88 (88.9) | 95 (97.9) |
| Age, mean (SD) | 77.1 (4.9) | 76.4 (4.8) |
| Repeat medications, mean (SD) | 10.2 (4.5) | 9.5 (4.1) |
| PIP drugsc | ||
| Mean (SD) | 1.31 (0.6) | 1.39 (0.6) |
| Median (IQR) | 1 (1–2) | 1 (1–2) |
| Most prevalent PIP drug: proton pump inhibitors, No. (%) | 53 (53.3) | 65 (67.7) |
GMS = general medical services; GP = general practitioner; IQR = interquartile range; PIP = potentially inappropriate prescribing.
Note: Figures are numbers (percentages) unless stated otherwise.
a
Urban area: relatively small center of population, with at least 5,000 residents.37
b
Population-weighted deprivation score for each practice; higher scores mean practices are situated in more socioeconomically deprived areas.
c
All patients had at least 1 potentially inappropriate prescription at baseline.