Effects of a primary care intervention to improve the quality of zolpidem prescriptions in elderly patients

Purpose The objective of this study was to measure the impact of an intervention on the prescription habits of general practitioners (GPs) in order to improve the quality of zolpidem prescriptions in patients aged 75 or older. Methods A prospective multicentric non-randomized trial was performed in the Metropolitan Granada Primary Healthcare Area (Andalusian Public Healthcare Service, Spain), which serves a total population of approximately 675,000 inhabitants. All health centers volunteering to participate in the trial were included. The intervention consisted of training sessions, individualized feedback, clinical information, and financial incentives. A daily dose over 5 mg was considered non-safe. Reduction in non-safe prescriptions of zolpidem in the elderly population became a quality prescribing indicator in a pay-for-performance scheme. Results Statistically significant differences versus baseline were found between the intervention and control groups in mean zolpidem prescription prevalence (28.5 vs. 37.5‰, respectively; p = 0.008) and mean non-safe zolpidem prescription prevalence (16.5 vs. 34.2‰, respectively; p