The Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) and CPRD launched a collaborative pilot project in 2015 to explore the potential of using CPRD data to help general practitioners (GPs) improve the quality of patient care. Practices contributing data to CPRD are sent confidential practice level reports that allow individual practices to easily find patients on medicines who may need reviewing. The reports include information on medicines prescriptions (‘prescribing indicators) that are agreed at the RCGP-CPRD Quality Improvement (QI) project steering group which includes GPs from the RCGP Clinical Innovation and Research Centre (CIRC). As of June 2018, 4 prescribing safety indicator reports have been provided to all CPRD practices and another 2 indicators will be launched in late 2018. The aim of this project is to evaluate the impact of this QI initiative on prescribing in practices receiving the reports, by measuring prescribing of medicines targeted by the first six quality indicators used.
The RCGP and CPRD launched a collaborative quality improvement (QI) pilot project in 2015 to explore the potential of using CPRD data to help general practitioners (GPs) improve patient care. Practices contributing data to CPRD are sent confidential bespoke practice level feedback on prescribing safety indicators including lists of patients who may need review. The aim of this study is to evaluate the impact of the QI initiative on the targeted prescribing using segmented regression analysis of interrupted time-series data with estimation of absolute and relative change at pre-specified times after the interruption/intervention. To address potential misspecification of the interruption period, a Joinpoint regression analysis will also be conducted as a sensitivity analysis. The outcomes will be change in the proportion of patients particularly vulnerable to adverse drug effects (because of age, comorbidity or co-prescribing) who are prescribed non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), thiazolidininediones (glitazone), aspirin without an anticoagulant, antidepressants and antipsychotics. These outcomes encompass the prescribing targeted by the first six indicators covered in the reports.
Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs)
- Antidepressants
- Thiazolidinediones (glitazones)
- Antipsychotics
- Aspirin without an anticoagulant
Puja Myles - Chief Investigator - CPRD
Helen Booth - Corresponding Applicant - CPRD
Bruce Guthrie - Collaborator - University of Edinburgh
Eleanor Yelland - Collaborator - CPRD
Rebecca Ghosh - Collaborator - CPRD
Stephen Welburn - Collaborator - CPRD
Practice Level Index of Multiple Deprivation