Patient Centered Communication in Community Pharmacy (P3CP)

Up to 80% of patients with chronic illness, and especially polypharmacy patients, experience drug-related problems (DRPs), such as side effects, adverse drug-drug interactions, and even death, with up to 16 DRPs per patient. This is costly, both for the individual patient's quality of life, and for society, as it causes extra general practitioner visits and drug-related hospitalizations.
Studies have shown that when pharmacy staff engage in patient centered communication, they are able to detect more DRPs. Unfortunately, this engagement is flawed in practice. By strengthening pharmacy staff's competencies within trustful, patient-oriented communication in order to gain a better understanding of the patients' individual concerns and challenges, it is expected that significantly more DRPs will be detected and hence addressed.

In this context, the Social and Clinical Pharmacy Group, Department of Pharmacy has in collaboration with the Department of Nordic Studies and Linguistics from the University of Copenhagen, University of Southern Denmark, Pharmakon, Patient in Focus, the Dutch University, Rijksuniversiteit Groningen, and Netherlands Institute for Health Services Research (NIVEL) received funding from the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT Health). The funds will be used for developing and testing a new post-graduate education in patient centered communication at community pharmacies in Denmark and the Netherlands, initially aimed at pharmacists and pharmacy technicians, and it will be based on the psychological concept of "mentalization".

From September 27th to December 9th 2021, the effect of the entire six-module education will be tested on 52 pharmacy staff from Denmark and the Netherlands, respectively. Following the education, pharmacy staff´s detect of DRPs is expected to be significantly improved, just as the general patient centered dialogue will be improved and staff job satisfaction increased as well.

From 2022, the fully developed education will be participant-paid and continuously offered at Pharmakon in Denmark, and at NIVEL in the Netherlands. In addition, mentalizing will be implemented as a permanent part of the pharmacist education at the University of Copenhagen, the University of Southern Denmark and Rijksuniversiteit Groningen.

Contact:
Associate Professor Susanne Kaae
+45 35 33 62 73
susanne.kaae@sund.ku.dk

KU SUND

KU HUM

Pharmakon

Patient in Focus

Syddansk Universitet

Groningen Universitet

NIVEL

About EIT Health
Europe faces a turning point in health. An ageing population, the rising burden of chronic disease, and growing multi-morbidity are all placing pressure on health systems across Europe.

EIT Health is a vast, vibrant community of world leading health innovators backed by the European Union. Working across borders, our network connects approximately 150 world-class partner organisations, as well as entrepreneurs, start-ups and SMEs from the worlds of business, research, education and healthcare delivery. Our aim is to answer the biggest health challenges Europe faces and we believe that life changing innovation happens when these worlds meet and collaborate. That’s why we call this the 'knowledge triangle’.

From our headquarters in Munich, six regional Innovation Hubs and InnoStars cluster, which brings together organisations from regions in which the overall pace of innovation is more moderate, we provide an ecosystem in which fresh thinking can thrive. Our Regional Innovation Scheme further expands our presence in 13 countries across Central, Eastern and Southern Europe. EIT Health also leads the development of the EIT Hub in Israel, which connects innovators across Europe to other key thriving ecosystems beyond the EU.

EIT Health is supported by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), a body of the European Union. Our ambition is to enable people in Europe to live longer, healthier lives by transforming businesses and delivering new products and services that can progress healthcare in Europe and strengthen our economy.

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