Contact information
Type
Scientific
Primary contact
Mr J P Trietsch
ORCID ID
Contact details
Maastricht University
Department of General Practice
P.O. Box 616
Maastricht
6200 MD
Netherlands
+31 (0)43 388 2877
Jasper.Trietsch@HAG.unimaas.nl
Additional identifiers
EudraCT number
ClinicalTrials.gov number
Protocol/serial number
NTR1033
Study information
Scientific title
DTO-FTO trial: Small group quality improvement on prescribing and test ordering performance of general practitioners: a large scale implementation study in the South of the Netherlands
Acronym
Study hypothesis
This strategy will improve the number of tests ordered or the volume of prescribed drugs by 20% and decrease the inter-doctor variation.
Ethics approval
Ethics Board of the academic hospital Maastricht (azM)/Maastricht University (UM), 24/08/2006, ref: MEC 06-4-033
Study design
Multicentre cluster-randomised active-controlled parallel-group trial
Primary study design
Interventional
Secondary study design
Cluster randomised trial
Trial setting
GP practices
Trial type
Treatment
Patient information sheet
Not available in web format, please use the contact details to request a patient information sheet
Condition
Prescribing and test ordering performance of general practitioners
Intervention
All participating GP's receive feedback on their own test ordering and prescribing performance in the foregoing six months on a predefined clinical topic. The graphical comparative feedback is send to each GP individually together with an outline of current guidelines on the topic, prior to the group meeting. The feedback will lead to peer review, seeking and discussing explanations for differences, comparing own performance to the guidelines, discussing a plan for change and discussing barriers to change. Each group discusses three clinical topics in six sessions. If the group wishes to do so, two sessions (test ordering and prescribing) can be combined into one session.
The intervention will run from September 2007 through February 2009. Please note that as of 05/10/2007, the anticipated start date of this trial was posponed from September 2007 to December 2007.
Intervention type
Other
Phase
Not Specified
Drug names
Primary outcome measure
1. The volume of ordered diagnostic tests and of prescribed medication
2. The inter-doctor variation in both test ordering and prescribing
Outcomes are measured at start of study (baseline), each 6 months preliminary data, after 18 months main timepoint for effect measurement, 6 and 12 months later long term effect measurement.
Secondary outcome measures
1. The quality of prescribing as defined by indicators
2. The level of functioning of the groups
3. What are the costs of implementation of the strategy?
4. Process data (attendance, altering of the meeting structure etc.)
Outcomes are measured at start of study (baseline), each 6 months preliminary data, after 18 months main timepoint for effect measurement, 6 and 12 months later long term effect measurement.
Overall trial start date
01/12/2007
Overall trial end date
01/02/2010
Reason abandoned (if study stopped)
Eligibility
Participant inclusion criteria
Groups of General Practitioners (GPs) conjoint in pharmacotherapeutic audit groups.
Participant type
Health professional
Age group
Adult
Gender
Both
Target number of participants
50 groups
Participant exclusion criteria
1. Groups of over 15 GP's
2. Groups outside the provinces: Zeeland, Brabant or Limburg
Recruitment start date
01/12/2007
Recruitment end date
01/02/2010
Locations
Countries of recruitment
Netherlands
Trial participating centre
Maastricht University
Maastricht
6200 MD
Netherlands
Sponsor information
Organisation
University Maastricht (UM) (Netherlands)
Sponsor details
Department General Practitioner Medicine
P.O. Box 616
Maastricht
6200 MD
Netherlands
+31 (0)43 388 2309
trudy.vanderweijden@hag.unimaas.nl
Sponsor type
Hospital/treatment centre
Website
Funders
Funder type
Industry
Funder name
CZ Health Insurance Company (CZ Actief in Gezondheid) (Netherlands)
Alternative name(s)
Funding Body Type
Funding Body Subtype
Location
Funder name
The Netherlands Organisation for Health Research and Development (ZonMw) (Netherlands)
Alternative name(s)
Funding Body Type
Funding Body Subtype
Location
Results and Publications
Publication and dissemination plan
Not provided at time of registration
Intention to publish date
Participant level data
Not provided at time of registration
Basic results (scientific)
Publication list
2017 results in: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28407754