Background: Despite evidence that erythropoietin and intra- and postoperative blood salvage are expensive techniques considered to be non-cost-effective in primary elective total hip and knee arthroplasties in the Netherlands, Dutch medical professionals use them frequently to prevent the need for allogeneic transfusion. To actually change physicians' practice, a tailored strategy aimed at barriers that hinder physicians in abandoning the use of erythropoietin and perioperative blood salvage was systematically developed. The study aims to examine the effectiveness, feasibility and costs of this tailored de-implementation strategy compared to a control strategy.
Methods/design: A cluster randomized controlled trial including an effect, process and economic evaluation will be conducted in a minimum of 20 Dutch hospitals. Randomisation takes place at hospital level. The hospitals in the intervention group will receive a tailored de-implementation strategy that consists of four components: interactive education, feedback in educational outreach visits, electronically sent reports on hospital performance (all aimed at orthopedic surgeons and anesthesiologists), and information letters or emails aimed at other involved professionals within the intervention hospital (transfusion committee, OR-personnel, pharmacists). The hospitals in the control group will receive a control strategy (i.e., passive dissemination of available evidence). Outcomes will be measured at patient level, using retrospective medical record review. This will be done in all hospitals at baseline and after completion of the intervention period. The primary outcome of the effect evaluation is the percentage of patients undergoing primary elective total hip or knee arthroplasty in which erythropoietin or perioperative blood salvage is applied. The actual exposure to the tailored strategy and users' experiences will be assessed in the process evaluation. In the economic evaluation, the costs of the tailored strategy and the control strategy in relation to the difference in their effectiveness will be compared.
Discussion: This study will show whether a systematically developed tailored strategy is more effective for de-implementation of non-cost-effective blood saving measures than the control strategy. This knowledge can be used in national and international initiatives to make healthcare more efficient. It also provides more generalized knowledge regarding de-implementation strategies.
Trial registration: This trial is registered at the Dutch Trial Register NTR4044.