As a policy maker the SIMPATHY project has increased my awareness of the benefits of appropriate polypharmacy management and shown me that, although there is no single ‘one size fits all’ solution, lessons can be learned from the good practices being developed and implemented across Europe. These practices are demonstrating measurable safety and economic benefits which is highly relevant to Government policy in my country where medicines are the most common medical intervention used in the health service.
Polypharmacy is a growing problem related to population longevity, multimorbidity and increasing complexity of care. A current policy goal is to support reform and quality improvement in services to help people have the right number and combination of medicines throughout life for optimal health outcomes and minimised risk. This requires a whole system approach involving quality prescribing decisions, regular medication reviews and the involvement of patients and carers. Although health and social care services are adapting, introducing integrated models of care delivered by multi-professional teams, they need evidence based approaches to help deliver change and improve patient experience at pace. The SIMPATHY project will help support this by supporting communication and the sharing of experience, good practice and tools among stakeholders across European countries.
by Mrs Cathy Harrison
- A short video introducing SIMPATHY Project
- Case studies were conducted in nine locations across the EU. To learn more click here
- A short article about the medical app to assist with polypharmacy released by the National Health Service (NHS) Scotland called Polypharmacy Guidance. To learn more click here
- For detailed informations about project deliverables click here
- For more informations about Change Management Tools click here