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Drugs & Aging
Published in: Drugs & Aging 6/2015

Open Access 01-06-2015 | Original Research Article

Computerized Decision Support Improves Medication Review Effectiveness: An Experiment Evaluating the STRIP Assistant’s Usability

Authors: Michiel C. Meulendijk, Marco R. Spruit, A. Clara Drenth-van Maanen, Mattijs E. Numans, Sjaak Brinkkemper, Paul A. F. Jansen, Wilma Knol

Published in: Drugs & Aging | Issue 6/2015

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Abstract

Background

Polypharmacy poses threats to patients’ health. The Systematic Tool to Reduce Inappropriate Prescribing (STRIP) is a drug optimization process for conducting medication reviews in primary care. To effectively and efficiently incorporate this method into daily practice, the STRIP Assistant—a decision support system that aims to assist physicians with the pharmacotherapeutic analysis of patients’ medical records—has been developed. It generates context-specific advice based on clinical guidelines.

Objective

The aim of this study was to validate the STRIP Assistant’s usability as a tool for physicians to optimize medical records for polypharmacy patients.

Methods

In an online experiment, 42 physicians were asked to optimize medical records for two comparable polypharmacy patients, one in their usual manner and one using the STRIP Assistant. Changes in effectiveness were measured by comparing respondents’ optimized medicine prescriptions with medication prepared by an expert panel of two geriatrician-pharmacologists. Efficiency was operationalized by recording the time the respondents took to optimize the two cases. User satisfaction was measured with the System Usability Scale (SUS). Independent and paired t tests were used for analysis.

Results

Medication optimization significantly improved with the STRIP Assistant. Appropriate decisions increased from 58 % without the STRIP Assistant to 76 % with it (p < 0.0001). Inappropriate decisions decreased from 42 % without the STRIP Assistant to 24 % with it (p < 0.0001). Participants spent significantly more time optimizing medication with the STRIP Assistant (24 min) than without it (13 min; p < 0.0001). They assigned it a below-average SUS score of 63.25.

Conclusion

The STRIP Assistant improves the effectiveness of medication reviews for polypharmacy patients.
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Metadata
Title
Computerized Decision Support Improves Medication Review Effectiveness: An Experiment Evaluating the STRIP Assistant’s Usability
Authors
Michiel C. Meulendijk
Marco R. Spruit
A. Clara Drenth-van Maanen
Mattijs E. Numans
Sjaak Brinkkemper
Paul A. F. Jansen
Wilma Knol
Publication date
01-06-2015
Publisher
Springer International Publishing
Published in
Drugs & Aging / Issue 6/2015
Print ISSN: 1170-229X
Electronic ISSN: 1179-1969
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s40266-015-0270-0

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