Medication OveruseNCT06470308
Prescribing Outcomes of a GP-Targeted Deprescribing Educational Intervention: A Cluster Randomized Trial
A study testing Medication Reviews and Deprescribing in people with Medication Overuse and Deprescriptions, run by University of Crete at 1 site in Greece.
Trial summary
Polypharmacy is a common and growing public health concern across healthcare settings worldwide and is associated with an increased risk of inappropriate prescribing and adverse drug events. Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 65 years and older
- Conditions the study is for
- Medication Overuse, Deprescriptions, Polypharmacy
- What is being tested?
- Medication Reviews and Deprescribing
- Could I receive a placebo?
- No, everyone receives an active treatment
- How many people
- 200 participants
- Where
- 1 siteGreece
- Study dates
- 18 Nov 2024to Mar 2026
- Phase
- Interventional
- Are there results?
- Not yet: the study is under way
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages 65 years and older
- All sexes
- No healthy volunteers
- Older adult
Who may be able to join
- community-dwelling patients
- Age ≥ 65 years
- Receive at least 5 medication ( polypharmacy )
Who cannot join
- hospitalized or patients living in nursing home
- Incapable of giving written consent
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country.
About this study
Official title: Prescribing Outcomes of a General Practitioner-Targeted Deprescribing Educational Intervention in Older Adults With Polypharmacy: A Cluster Randomized Trial
Polypharmacy is a common and growing public health concern across healthcare settings worldwide and is associated with an increased risk of inappropriate prescribing and adverse drug events. Deprescribing-defined as the supervised withdrawal of potentially inappropriate medications using structured tools and clinical judgment-has been proposed as a strategy to improve prescribing safety. In Greece, formal initiatives and evidence evaluating deprescribing interventions in primary care remain limited.
This study is a cluster randomized controlled trial evaluating the effect of an educational intervention for general practitioners (GPs) on prescribing safety in primary care. Participating GPs are randomized in an approximately 1:1 ratio to an intervention or control arm. GPs in the intervention arm receive structured education and training on medication review and deprescribing, including the use of validated deprescribing tools such as the Beers Criteria. GPs in the control arm provide usual care and do not receive any educational intervention.
Patients receiving care from participating GPs are recruited, and prescribing outcomes are assessed at the patient level. The primary outcome is change in prescription medications following the intervention, comparing patients cared for by GPs in the intervention arm versus those cared for by GPs in the control arm.
- Conditions
- Medication Overuse, Deprescriptions, Polypharmacy, Frailty Syndrome
- Being tested
- Medication Reviews and Deprescribing
- Medical subject headings
- Prescription Drug Overuse, Frailty
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
Medication Reviews and DeprescribingOther
General Practitioners will be given training and education in deprescribing algorithms and the conduction of medication reviews with the use of validated deprescribing tools such as the Beers Criteria.
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Intervention Arm | Experimental | An educational intervention and training in deprescribing algorithms and deprescribing tools ( Beers Criteria) will be provided to the general practitioners caring for the patients selected in the intervention arm. Receives: Other: Medication Reviews and Deprescribing |
| Control Arm | No intervention | No educational intervention will be provided to the general practitioners of the selected patients. |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Potentially Inappropriate Medication
Determine if there is reduction in potentially Inappropriate medication after a deprescribing education intervention
Measured: 1 years
Number of medications
Determine if there is reduction in number of medications after a deprescribing education intervention
Measured: 1 year
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted24 Jun 2024
- Study start18 Nov 2024
- Primary completion30 Dec 2025
- Study completionMar 2026 (estimated)
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Other trials for Medication OveruseStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Phase N/A
- Primary purpose
- Other
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Enrolment
- 200 participants (estimated)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- University of Crete
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Responsible party
- Principal investigator, Alexandros Paraskevopoulos, University of Crete
- Investigators
- Ioanna Tsiligianni, MD, PhD, Study chair, Associate Professor in General Practice and Public Health, Department of Social Medicine, University of Crete
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT06470308
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- 93/12.06.2023
- Status last verified
- Feb 2026
- First submitted
- 17 Jun 2024
- Last updated
- 9 Feb 2026
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- No
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
- Individual data sharing
- No: All the data that will be collected, will be retained only during the period needed for the aims of this research. Technical and organizational measures will be taken in order to minimize potential loss, destruction or corruption of the data.After the completion of the thesis , all the data will be destroyed.
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 9 Feb 2026. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- Prescribing Outcomes of a General Practitioner-Targeted Deprescribing Educational Intervention in Older Adults With Polypharmacy: A Cluster Randomized Trial
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT06470308
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- 93/12.06.2023
- Conditions
- Medication Overuse, Deprescriptions, Polypharmacy, Frailty Syndrome
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Active, not recruiting
- Enrolment
- 200 participants (estimated)
- Lead sponsor
- University of CreteUniversity, hospital or other
- Study start
- 18 Nov 2024 (actual)
- Primary completion
- 30 Dec 2025 (actual)
- Study completion
- Mar 2026 (estimated)
- First posted
- 24 Jun 2024 (actual)
- Results
- Not posted in the source record
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
Polypharmacy is a common and growing public health concern across healthcare settings worldwide and is associated with an increased risk of inappropriate prescribing and adverse drug events. Deprescribing-defined as the supervised withdrawal of potentially inappropriate medications using structured tools and clinical judgment-has been proposed as a strategy to improve prescribing safety. In Greece, formal initiatives and evidence evaluating deprescribing interventions in primary care remain limited.
This study is a cluster randomized controlled trial evaluating the effect of an educational intervention for general practitioners (GPs) on prescribing safety in primary care. Participating GPs are randomized in an approximately 1:1 ratio to an intervention or control arm. GPs in the intervention arm receive structured education and training on medication review and deprescribing, including the use of validated deprescribing tools such as the Beers Criteria. GPs in the control arm provide usual care and do not receive any educational intervention.
Patients receiving care from participating GPs are recruited, and prescribing outcomes are assessed at the patient level. The primary outcome is change in prescription medications following the intervention, comparing patients cared for by GPs in the intervention arm versus those cared for by GPs in the control arm.
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Other
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Number of arms
- 2
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| Intervention Arm | Experimental | Other: Medication Reviews and DeprescribingAn educational intervention and training in deprescribing algorithms and deprescribing tools ( Beers Criteria) will be provided to the general practitioners caring for the patients selected in the intervention arm. |
| Control Arm | No intervention | –No educational intervention will be provided to the general practitioners of the selected patients. |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 65 years and older
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Not accepted
- Age groups
- Older adult
Key inclusion criteria (3 listed)
- community-dwelling patients
- Age ≥ 65 years
- Receive at least 5 medication ( polypharmacy )
Key exclusion criteria (2 listed)
- hospitalized or patients living in nursing home
- Incapable of giving written consent
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Interventions
| Intervention | Type | Arms |
|---|---|---|
| Medication Reviews and DeprescribingGeneral Practitioners will be given training and education in deprescribing algorithms and the conduction of medication reviews with the use of validated deprescribing tools such as the Beers Criteria. | Other | Intervention Arm |
Primary outcome
Potentially Inappropriate Medication
Time frame: 1 years
Determine if there is reduction in potentially Inappropriate medication after a deprescribing education intervention
Number of medications
Time frame: 1 year
Determine if there is reduction in number of medications after a deprescribing education intervention
Results and safety
This study is still under way. Results are not available in the source record yet.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 9 Feb 2026.
- Individual participant dataSharing planned: No. All the data that will be collected, will be retained only during the period needed for the aims of this research. Technical and organizational measures will be taken in order to minimize potential loss, destruction or corruption of the data.After the completion of the thesis , all the data will be destroyed.
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Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part. This study is not recruiting at the moment.
Ioanna Tsiligianni, MD, PhD study chair
Associate Professor in General Practice and Public Health, Department of Social Medicine, University of Crete
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A study testing Medication Reviews and Deprescribing in people with Medication Overuse and Deprescriptions, run by University of Crete at 1 site in Greece.
The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.
Who may be eligible to take part?
The sponsor lists 3 inclusion and 2 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.
Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?
The record says: under way, not looking for participants, as of the sponsor's last update on 9 Feb 2026. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 1 site in Greece. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.
What are the possible benefits and risks?
They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.
Are results available for this study?
This study is still under way. Results are not available in the source record yet.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
Potentially Inappropriate Medication (time frame: 1 years). The study lists 2 primary outcomes in all. It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?
No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.
How often is this information updated?
AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 9 Feb 2026; AzTrials last refreshed its copy on 7 Nov 2026.