Participants
cognitive impairments, fragilities
Inclusion criteria for general practitioners (GPs) were German as the main language in patient care, technical requirements for using a computer based tool in the consultation room, willingness to share PPI prescription data from their practice software and consent to collect data about PPI prescription data by the German health insurance company AOK. Excluded were physicians with specialized focus without regular PPI prescriptions (e.g. psychological therapy or acupuncture practices) or without a computing management system.Inclusion criteria for patients comprised age ≥ 18 years and regular PPI prescription for at least 6 months. Definition of long-term use varies widely in the literature (most common are ≥ 8 weeks up to 1 year), depending on outcome measurements of side effects or initial diagnosis, among othersNot included were patients with poor German language skills, cognitive impairments that hinder a study information or consent and housebound patients (e.g. patients with fragilities that impede a personal visit to the physician’s practice).