E-learning to improve the drug prescribing in the hospitalized elderly patients: the ELICADHE feasibility pilot study.

Background: E-learning is an efficient and cost-effective educational method.
Aims: This study aimed at evaluating the feasibility of an educational e-learning intervention, focused on teaching geriatric pharmacology and notions of comprehensive geriatric assessment, to improve drug prescribing to hospitalized elderly patients.
Methods: Eight geriatric and internal medicine wards were randomized to intervention (e-learning educational program) or control. Clinicians of the two groups had to complete a specific per group e-learning program in 30 days. Then, ten patients (aged ≥75 years) had to be consecutively enrolled collecting clinical data at hospital admission, discharge, and 3 months later. The quality of prescription was evaluated comparing the prevalence of potentially inappropriate medications through Beer's criteria and of potential drug-drug interactions through a specific computerized database.
Results: The study feasibility was confirmed by the high percentage (90 %) of clinicians who completed the e-learning program, the recruitment, and follow-up of all planned patients. The intervention was well accepted by all participating clinicians who judged positively (a mean score of >3 points on a scale of 5 points: 0 = useless; 5 = most useful) the specific contents, the methodology applied, the clinical relevance and utility of e-learning contents and tools for the evaluation of the appropriateness of drug prescribing.
Conclusions: The pilot study met all the requested goals. The main study is currently ongoing and is planned to finish on July 2015.