Rational prescribing in primary care (RaPP): economic evaluation of an intervention to improve professional practice.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Interventions designed to narrow the gap between research findings and clinical practice may be effective, but also costly. Economic evaluations are necessary to judge whether such interventions are worth the effort. We have evaluated the economic effects of a tailored intervention to support the implementation of guidelines for the use of antihypertensive and cholesterol-lowering drugs. The tailored intervention was evaluated in a randomized trial, and was shown to significantly increase the use of thiazides for patients started on antihypertensive medication, but had little or no impact on other outcomes. The increased use of thiazides was not expected to have an impact on health outcomes.

Methods and findings

We performed cost-minimization and cost-effectivenes

SUBMITTER: Fretheim A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1472698 | biostudies-literature | 2006 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature