The EAHP Board, elected for three-year terms, oversees the association’s activities. Comprising directors responsible for core functions, it meets regularly to implement strategic goals. Supported by EAHP staff, the Board controls finances, coordinates congress organization, and ensures compliance with statutes and codes of conduct.
Routine generation of real-world evidence: an integrated system for the systematic recording of clinical data on innovative outpatient hospital medicines
European Statement
Patient Safety and Quality Assurance
Author(s)
Manuel Mazarío-García, Amparo Molina Lázaro, Gemma Garrido Alejos, Ferran Sala-Piñol, Núria Juvanet Ribot, Lluís de Haro i Martin
Why was it done?
In 2011, the Catalan Health Service (CatSalut) introduced the Registry of Patients and Treatments of Outpatient Hospital Medicines (RPT-OHM) within their Standard Health Record Platform (SHRP) for the comprehensive evaluation, effectiveness and safety of OHM. CatSalut requires fulfilling RPT-OHM before medicines billing. However, SHRP lacked integration with ICS’ clinical and billing information systems.
What was done?
The Catalan Health Institute (ICS) is the largest healthcare provider in Catalonia and is made up of eight hospitals. The ICS developed and implemented a structured data collection tool named the Hospital-Information-System-integrated Registry of Patients and Treatments (RPT-HIS). This tool systematically collects a range of critical information, spanning from prescription inception to treatment cessation, such as:
• Administrative patient, prescriber, and treatment particulars.
• Active ingredients or combinations, initiation and termination dates, therapeutic indications, and ICD-10 diagnoses.
• Baseline clinical variables recorded upon treatment commencement.
• Dynamic clinical data captured or typed from medical records throughout follow-up according to predefined intervals.
• Cessation variables detailing reasons for treatment discontinuation.
How was it done?
At ICS’ headquarters, a dedicated team of internal business analysts and functional support officers, along with contracted developers, collaborated to design, implement, and maintain RPT-HIS. Monthly coordination meetings ensure efficient integration of new OHM and monitor the registry’s progress. Simultaneously, a network of local reference pharmacists emerged in all eight ICS hospitals, fostering continuous knowledge exchange and driving innovative enhancements.
What has been achieved?
In the first half of 2023, 52,907 initiation, follow-up, or discontinuation forms were completed. Among these, 93.7% met all preset treatment-specific validation rules, underscoring the initiative’s effectiveness. Subsequently, utilization and budgetary impact reports across ICS hospitals have been elaborated, covering general and special patient populations, indicating a positive impact on operational efficiency and patient care.
What next?
In the near future, the real-world data amassed and stored in RPT-HIS could help to underpin refined drug therapy, optimize health outcomes, and strategically position medicines for specific conditions, also aiding in selection and purchase. This initiative serves as a model of good practice, demonstrating the potential of integrated data collection systems, aligned with the routine process of OHM utilization, to improve patient care. The successful implementation of RPT-HIS suggests its viability for adoption in other healthcare settings.
EASE OF ACCESS TO INTRAVENOUS DRUG COMPATIBILITY INFORMATION FOR CLINICAL PRACTITIONERS
European Statement
Patient Safety and Quality Assurance
Author(s)
K. Teimori, H. Colldén, R. Asadian Falahieh
Why was it done?
Therapy at an intensive care unit (ICU) involves co-infusion of multiple drugs into the same IV line. This may involve mixing of incompatible drugs resulting in particulates being infused, putting the patient at risk. In 2012, a local survey showed 65% (n=142) of participating nurses had co-administered drugs where they were unsure of their compatibility. Preventing incompatibilities by providing healthcare practitioners with point of care IV drug compatibility information fitted to local needs was deemed a necessity. Drug compatibility requires a thorough understanding of chemistry, and information from published studies must be evaluated and assessed to determine applicability to local clinical conditions. Clinics had requested the support of pharmacists for this work.
What was done?
An online intravenous (IV) compatibility database based on these data was created. A group of international clinical pharmacists interested in collaborating in improving the quality of the database was identified. Information material aimed at educating healthcare personal was developed.
How was it done?
Published drug compatibility data and information on physiochemical properties were collected and assessed by a team of hospital pharmacists for applicability to seven clinics. Support, guidance and expertise in the subject had been readily offered to clinical practitioners through telephone calls, email and meetings.
What has been achieved?
Six custom compatibility charts totaling 3600 drug pairs have been created, and procedure documents for IV compatibility have been implemented in each clinic. Over 30 educational lectures on IV compatibility have been held.
The database consisting of 2500 drug combinations presents accessible detailed information on compatibility. Its quality is continuously reviewed by international colleagues.
What next?
The database is fitted to national clinical traditions, providing accessible data to nurses and physicians to support decisions on which drugs to co-infuse. In the next few years, the database will become nationally available. If integrated into the electronic journal system, this could help doctors consider compatibility issues while prescribing, further improving patient safety.
DEVELOPMENT OF AN INTERACTIVE PLATFORM FOR PROVINCE CLINICAL PHARMACEUTICS WHO ARE IN CHARGE OF THE TREATMENT OF HEPATITIS C INFECTED PATIENTS
European Statement
Clinical Pharmacy Services
Author(s)
S. Jornet Montaña, M. Martín Marqués, P. Jolonch Santasusagna, M. Juan Aguilar, C. Gomez Blanco, P. Salvador Collado
Why was it done?
The constant development of new therapies against hepatitis C and the lack of experience in their management requires health professionals to work together.
What was done?
An online platform was created to make inquiries, resolve doubts and establish a shared database among clinical pharmaceutics within the province.
How was it done?
Meetings of the provincial pharmaceutical association were conducted to jointly identify shared necessities across professionals and to determine the best communication system to be used in terms of efficiency, speed and reliability.
What has been achieved?
The pharmaceutical association created an interactive platform, which was easily accessible from a virtual campus. The platform eases the tasks of sending inquiries and comments about side effects to all pharmaceutical professionals in the system, simultaneously and in a timely fashion. This platform also allows the creation of debate forums to answer questions, and promotes knowledge sharing among participants. As time goes by and based on experience of new drugs, a drug interactions database is created. The platform also allows knowledge of whether specific combinations of drugs have been used and the hospital’s own experience, even if no official studies exist. In addition, the platform allows updating the previously introduced interactions and shows who has done it, so this participant can be asked if necessary. This system also allows the sharing of written information, such as patient brochures, recommendations, bibliography and scientific society links and other websites of interest.
What next?
The created platform meets the pharmaceutical participants’ expectations and allows equal treatment of all patients independently of the hospital where they are located. This platform allows professionals to work together for the same cause and overcome individual knowledge and resources constraints. This platform will be used for other illnesses for which special pharmaceutical attention is required. Finally, the platform will be expanded by inviting other provinces to join our project.