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A Controlled Trial of Educational Visits

Wayne A. Ray, PhD; Dan G. Blazer II, MD, PhD; William Schaffner, MD; Charles F. Federspiel, PhD; Raymond Fink, PhD

JAMA. 1986;256(18):2536-2539.

Abstract
We conducted a controlled, statewide trial of the efficacy of an educational visit by a physician counselor in the reduction of diazepam prescribing in outpatient practice. A novel aspect of this trial was the provision of a schedule for gradual withdrawal of long-term diazepam users from drug therapy; 51% of visited doctors attempted to withdraw patients from diazepam therapy and 26% utilized the withdrawal schedule. The entire group of 43 visited doctors reduced the rate of long-term diazepam users in their practice by 18% relative to the control group; the subgroup of doctors who utilized the withdrawal schedule had an even greater reduction of 33% These results suggest that practicing doctors are concerned with long-term use of diazepam and that the educational visit by another physician is one method for reducing such use.

(JAMA 1986;256:2536-2539)

Author Affiliations
From the Department of Preventive Medicine, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, Tenn (Drs Ray, Schaffner, and Federspiel); the Department of Psychiatry, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC (Dr Blazer); and the Department of Preventive Medicine, New York Medical College, Valhalla (Dr Fink).

Footnotes
Reprint requests to Department of Preventive Medicine, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN 37232 (Dr Ray).

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