Guidelines supported by case learning improved lipid management

Case learning methods may help general practitioners to implement clinical guidelines. Kiessling and Henriksson showed the effectiveness of case learning seminars for general practitioners on the lipid levels of their patients with coronary artery disease in a randomised controlled trial in Stockholm (p 877). After the publication of the simvastatin trial of lipid lowering treatment, all Stockholm general practitioners were invited to a lecture and given guidelines on secondary prevention. Half the doctors were then randomised also to receive three or four case learning seminars in their practices over the next two years. Compared with baseline, the LDL cholesterol concentrations in the patients in the intervention practices fell by 0.5 mmol/l (9.3%). This was similar to the fall experienced by patients under specialist care, while there was no change in concentrations of patients in the control practices.

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Relevant Article

Efficacy of case method learning in general practice for secondary prevention in patients with coronary artery disease: randomised controlled study

Anna Kiessling and Peter Henriksson
BMJ 2002 325: 877-880. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]