Stimulating Innovation Management of Polypharmacy and Adherence in The Elderly

ended

SIMPATHY aims to stimulate, promote and support innovation across the EU in the management of appropriate polypharmacy and adherence in the elderly, in order to contribute to efficient and sustainable healthcare systems. Through a programme of work and stakeholder engagement we will perform case studies in a range of different healthcare environments, including EIP-AHA reference sites, providing a framework and politico-economic basis for an EU wide benchmarking survey of strategies being employed for polypharmacy and non-adherence management. This includes innovative multidisciplinary models using the professional expertise of pharmacists and physicians to reduce inappropriate polypharmacy and innovation in healthcare workforce development to support patients with long term conditions. A set of contextualised change management approaches and tools will be developed to help politicians, regulators, health service providers, and other stakeholders to improve current practice by implementing organisational change and thus, improve the management of multi-morbid patients. The targeted dissemination of our validated findings and the creation of EU knowledge sharing network on polypharmacy and adherence management will support policy development, implementation of strategic organisational development and exchange of best practice to prepare the ground for necessary change in response to this major challenge. The anticipated outcomes will be a heightened awareness of this growing problem and an impetus for change. Information against which to benchmark regional and national progress, definitive guidance on the role of key stakeholders and how to initiate and manage this change process and will be available for the first time. The final ambition is to secure commitment of high-level political, healthcare providers, commissioners and professional associations to a task-force to address this evident threat to the sustainability of EU healthcare systems.