The detection and prevention of adverse drug events in nursing home and home care patients: Study protocol of a quasi-experimental study

Abstract

Aim: To estimate the cost-effectiveness of an intervention facilitating the early detection of adverse drug events through the means of health professional training and the application of a digital screening tool. Design: Multi-centred non-randomized controlled trial from August 2018 to March 2020 including 65 nursing homes or home care providers. Methods: We aim to estimate the effect of the intervention on the rate of adverse drug events as primary outcome through a quasi-experimental empirical study design. As secondary outcomes, we use hospital admissions and falls. All outcomes will be measured on patient-month level. Once the causal effect of the intervention is estimated, cost-effectiveness will be calculated. For cost-effectiveness, we include all patient costs observed by the German statutory health insurance. Results: The results of this study will inform about the cost-effectiveness of the optimized drug supply intervention and provide evidence for potential reimbursement within the German statutory health insurance system.