As the population ages, more people will have comorbid disorders and polypharmacy. Medication should be reviewed regularly in order to avoid adverse drug reactions and medication-related hospital visits, but this is often not done. As part of our student-run clinic project, we investigated whether an interprofessional student-run medication review program (ISP) added to standard care at a geriatric outpatient clinic leads to better prescribing. In this controlled clinical trial, patients visiting a memory outpatient clinic were allocated to standard care (control group) or standard care plus the ISP team (intervention group). The medications of all patients were reviewed by a review panel (“gold standard”), resident, and in the intervention arm also by an ISP team consisting of a group of students from the medicine and pharmacy faculties and students from the higher education school of nursing for advanced nursing practice. For both groups, the number of STOPP/START-based medication changes mentioned in general practitioner (GP) correspondence and the implementation of these changes about 6 weeks after the outpatient visit were investigated. The data of 216 patients were analyzed (control group = 100, intervention group = 116). More recommendations for STOPP/STARTbased medication changes were made in the GP correspondence in the intervention group than in the control group (43% vs. 24%, P = < 0.001). After 6 weeks, a significantly higher proportion of these changes were implemented in the intervention group (19% vs. 9%, P = 0.001). The ISP team, in addition to standard care, is an effective intervention for optimizing pharmacotherapy and medication safety in a geriatric outpatient clinic.
MULTIFILE
As the population ages, more people will have comorbid disorders and polypharmacy. Medication should be reviewed regularly in order to avoid adverse drug reactions and medication-related hospital visits, but this is often not done. As part of our student-run clinic project, we investigated whether an interprofessional student-run medication review program (ISP) added to standard care at a geriatric outpatient clinic leads to better prescribing. In this controlled clinical trial, patients visiting a memory outpatient clinic were allocated to standard care (control group) or standard care plus the ISP team (intervention group). The medications of all patients were reviewed by a review panel (“gold standard”), resident, and in the intervention arm also by an ISP team consisting of a group of students from the medicine and pharmacy faculties and students from the higher education school of nursing for advanced nursing practice. For both groups, the number of STOPP/START-based medication changes mentioned in general practitioner (GP) correspondence and the implementation of these changes about 6 weeks after the outpatient visit were investigated. The data of 216 patients were analyzed (control group = 100, intervention group = 116). More recommendations for STOPP/STARTbased medication changes were made in the GP correspondence in the intervention group than in the control group (43% vs. 24%, P = < 0.001). After 6 weeks, a significantly higher proportion of these changes were implemented in the intervention group (19% vs. 9%, P = 0.001). The ISP team, in addition to standard care, is an effective intervention for optimizing pharmacotherapy and medication safety in a geriatric outpatient clinic.
MULTIFILE
BACKGROUND: During transitions from hospital to home, up to half of all patients experience medication-related problems, such as adverse drug events. To reduce these problems, knowledge of patient experiences with medication use during this transition is needed. This study aims to identify the perspectives of patients on barriers and facilitators with medication use, during the transition from hospital to home.METHODS: A qualitative study was conducted in 2017 among patients discharged from two hospitals using a semi-structured interview guide. Patients were asked to identify all barriers they experienced with medication use during transitions from hospital to home, and facilitators needed to overcome those barriers. Data were analyzed following thematic content analysis and visualized using an "Ishikawa" diagram.RESULTS: In total, three focus groups were conducted with 19 patients (mean age: 70.8 (SD 9.3) years, 63% female). Three barriers were identified; lack of personalized care in the care continuum, insufficient information transfer (e.g. regarding changes in pharmacotherapy), and problems in care organization (e.g. medication substitution). Facilitators to overcome these barriers included a personal medication-counselor in the care continuum to guide patients with medication use and overcome communication barriers, and post-discharge follow-up care (e.g. home visits from healthcare providers).CONCLUSIONS: During transitions from hospital to home patients experience individual-, healthcare provider- and organization level barriers. Future research should focus on personal-medication counselors in the care continuum and post-discharge follow-up care as it may overcome communication, emotional, information and organization barriers with medication use.
Every year in the Netherlands around 10.000 people are diagnosed with non-small cell lung cancer, commonly at advanced stages. In 1 to 2% of patients, a chromosomal translocation of the ROS1 gene drives oncogenesis. Since a few years, ROS1+ cancer can be treated effectively by targeted therapy with the tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) crizotinib, which binds to the ROS1 protein, impairs the kinase activity and thereby inhibits tumor growth. Despite the successful treatment with crizotinib, most patients eventually show disease progression due to development of resistance. The available TKI-drugs for ROS1+ lung cancer make it possible to sequentially change medication as the disease progresses, but this is largely a ‘trial and error’ approach. Patients and their doctors ask for better prediction which TKI will work best after resistance occurs. The ROS1 patient foundation ‘Stichting Merels Wereld’ raises awareness and brings researchers together to close the knowledge gap on ROS1-driven oncogenesis and increase the options for treatment. As ROS1+ lung cancer is rare, research into resistance mechanisms and the availability of cell line models are limited. Medical Life Sciences & Diagnostics can help to improve treatment by developing new models which mimic the situation in resistant tumor cells. In the current proposal we will develop novel TKI-resistant cell lines that allow screening for improved personalized treatment with TKIs. Knowledge of specific mutations occurring after resistance will help to predict more accurately what the next step in patient treatment could be. This project is part of a long-term collaboration between the ROS1 patient foundation ‘Stichting Merels Wereld’, the departments of Pulmonary Oncology and Pathology of the UMCG and the Institute for Life Science & Technology of the Hanzehogeschool. The company Vivomicx will join our consortium, adding expertise on drug screening in complex cell systems.
Veel patiënten gebruiken hun medicijnen nog niet optimaal. Ondanks het groeiende aantal interventies en innovaties om de therapietrouw te bevorderen, lukt het maar mondjesmaat om deze ook grootschalig toe te passen in de dagelijkse praktijk. Het Make-It consortium, wat staat voor Medication Adherence Knowledge, Expertise and Implementation Taskforce, houdt zich sinds 1 juli 2019 bezig met de vraag hoe de therapietrouw in de praktijk verbeterd kan worden. Hiertoe begeleidt het consortium proeftuinen die, met subsidie uit de ZonMw STIP ronde laagdrempelige therapietrouw, interventies in de dagelijkse praktijk willen implementeren.Doel Patiënten die chronisch medicatie gebruiken helpen hun medicijnen optimaal te gebruiken. Resultaten Kennis over de implementatie van interventies en innovaties, succesfactoren en knelpunten hiervan, een verbeterde therapietrouw bij patiënten. Looptijd 01 januari 2019 - 01 juli 2025 Aanpak Tijdens het onderzoeksproject worden verschillende interventies, om de therapietrouw in de praktijk te bevorderen, getest. De interventies die succesvol blijken, zullen geïmplementeerd worden in de zorg die geleverd wordt door de deelnemende proeftuinen. Update: Vier proeftuinen hebben in 2020 subsidie gekregen van ZonMw om hun project uit te voeren. De proeftuinen bestaan uit zorgverbanden uit Amsterdam, Almere, Amersfoort en Utrecht. Alle vier zijn zij voorlopers op het gebied van innovatieve zorgprojecten. Momenteel zijn de vier proeftuinen bezig met de afronding van de implementatie van de door hun gekozen interventies. In 2022 hebben vier nieuwe proeftuinen subsidie gekregen voor de laatste ronde van de STIP Call van ZonMw. Dit zijn zorgverbanden uit de Nederlandse Antillen, Friesland, Vleuten en Limburg. Deze proeftuinen zullen in het najaar van 2022 starten met de implementatie van de interventies die zij gekozen hebben.
Veel patiënten gebruiken hun medicijnen nog niet optimaal. Ondanks het groeiende aantal interventies en innovaties om de therapietrouw te bevorderen, lukt het maar mondjesmaat om deze ook grootschalig toe te passen in de dagelijkse praktijk. Het Make-It consortium, wat staat voor Medication Adherence Knowledge, Expertise and Implementation Taskforce, houdt zich sinds 1 juli 2019 bezig met de vraag hoe de therapietrouw in de praktijk verbeterd kan worden. Hiertoe begeleidt het consortium proeftuinen die, met subsidie uit de ZonMw STIP ronde laagdrempelige therapietrouw, interventies in de dagelijkse praktijk willen implementeren.Doel Patiënten die chronisch medicatie gebruiken helpen hun medicijnen optimaal te gebruiken. Resultaten Kennis over de implementatie van interventies en innovaties, succesfactoren en knelpunten hiervan, een verbeterde therapietrouw bij patiënten. Looptijd 01 januari 2019 - 01 juli 2025 Aanpak Tijdens het onderzoeksproject worden verschillende interventies, om de therapietrouw in de praktijk te bevorderen, getest. De interventies die succesvol blijken, zullen geïmplementeerd worden in de zorg die geleverd wordt door de deelnemende proeftuinen. Update: Vier proeftuinen hebben in 2020 subsidie gekregen van ZonMw om hun project uit te voeren. De proeftuinen bestaan uit zorgverbanden uit Amsterdam, Almere, Amersfoort en Utrecht. Alle vier zijn zij voorlopers op het gebied van innovatieve zorgprojecten. Momenteel zijn de vier proeftuinen bezig met de afronding van de implementatie van de door hun gekozen interventies. In 2022 hebben vier nieuwe proeftuinen subsidie gekregen voor de laatste ronde van de STIP Call van ZonMw. Dit zijn zorgverbanden uit de Nederlandse Antillen, Friesland, Vleuten en Limburg. Deze proeftuinen zullen in het najaar van 2022 starten met de implementatie van de interventies die zij gekozen hebben.
