A Randomised Pilot Study of the REVISiT Intervention

In 2012, the General Medical Council (GMC) funded PRACtICe (PRevalence And Causes of prescrIbing errors in general practiCe) study, reported that 1 in 20 prescriptions in general practice were found to have a prescribing or monitoring error. The PRACtICe study also proposed some strategies to consider to improve prescribing safety. Further to the PRACtICe study, in line with recommendation from the Medical Research Council (MRC) for developing complex interventions, we conducted a series of focus groups with health care professionals and members of the public to identify possible ways to improve the prescribing education provided for general practitioner (GP) trainees - a group that was identified as likely to benefit from additional education and training in prescribing safety. These focus group discussions identified a pharmacist-led review of the prescribing done by GP trainees, together with feedback, as a promising potential intervention. This intervention, named REVISiT, was piloted with ten trainees and their trainers in the East Midlands. The error rate for the trainees was recorded as 9%. Interviews with the trainees and trainers undertaken following the intervention highlighted that REVISiT was positively received. Some GPs gave examples of how their prescribing practice had changed following the intervention. After this pilot study, we conducted another study involving interviews, focus groups and a stakeholder event with key stakeholders (practice, policy, legal and members of the public) to explore the next steps for REVISiT. Whilst some participants proposed that REVISiT be immediately implemented with minor modifications, others pointed to the need to establish the impact of the intervention more broadly (including its impact in areas other than education and training). Additionally, they highlighted the importance of establishing its effectiveness in order to support making a substantial case for future allocation of resources. Conducting a randomi