Donegal participants medicine mix examined to improve care and avoid hospitals

A unique cross-border trial which includes Donegal participants has improved care for patients prescribed multiple medicines.

The iSIMPATHY project worked with professionals here, Scotland, and Northern Ireland to comprehensively review patient medication.

Taking multiple medicines can be problematic if the increased risk of harm from interactions between drugs, or between drugs and diseases, outweighs the intended benefits.

Interim findings showed these interventions potentially prevented major organ failure, adverse drug reactions, avoided hospital admissions and saw patients moved to more appropriate medication.

Emma Jane Coyle MPSI, iSIMPATHY Project Pharmacist from Donegal and based at the Bayview Family Practice in Ballyshannon and Bundoran said:

“Over the past two years, GPs in border counties and their patients have been benefitting from a novel EU-funded project. iSIMPATHY delivers an interdisciplinary collaborative approach centred around pharmacist-led medicines reviews. Clinical pharmacists have joined 11 practices and have delivered holistic person-centred medicines reviews with over 2,500 patients with complex medication needs, with changes made in collaboration with the GP.

“The approach is highly effective at identifying and addressing the risks associated with complex polypharmacy, incorporating shared decision making and improving patient understanding and experience. The project has been welcomed by GPs, Pharmacists and patients.”

Fundamental to these programmes is the principle that providers work in partnership with patients to enable shared decision making regarding medication, which improves patient adherence and medicines related outcomes.

iSIMPATHY HSE Project Pharmacists who met with patients

Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly said:

“Medicines are the most common healthcare intervention used within the health system, and the use of the right medicine for the right patient at the right time is central to this.

“In the delivery of this project, pharmacists were strategically and ideally placed as medicines experts within a multidisciplinary team framework working to maximise therapeutic outcomes for optimal patient benefit.”

Project funding, managed by the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB), was match funded by the Northern Ireland Executive, the Irish Government and the Scottish Government.