The ‘GIMS model’ for the screening and rating of Medication Safety in a country
Research student:A.P. (Aradhana) Kohli, BSc Pharmacy,
MSc-student Pharmacy, UtrechtUniversity, The Netherlands
/ Daily supervisor:
A.R.G (Richard) van Slobbe, PharmD,
Chairman GIMS foundation
Examiner:
Prof. Dr. H.G.M. (Bert) Leufkens,
Professor of Pharmacoepidemiology, Division of Pharmacoepidemiology & Clinical Pharmacology at UtrechtUniversity,
Scientific Director UU-WHO Collaborating Centre of Pharmaceutical Policy and Regulation,
Chairman of the Dutch Medicines Evaluation Board. / Referee:
Dr. A. (Aukje) Mantel-Teeuwisse,
Director School of Pharmacy at UtrechtUniversity,
Division Pharmacoepidemiology & Clinical Pharmacology at UtrechtUniversity,
Managing Director UU-WHO Collaborating Centre for Pharmaceutical Policy and Regulation.
Period:
April-November 2016 / A research by the University of Utrecht in collaboration with GIMS foundation
Introduction
The Global Initiative on Medication Safety (GIMS) foundation was founded in 2014 inThe Netherlands by A.R.G. van Slobbe, Pharm.D. and H.P. ten Hoff, MSc, and found its origin in a pharmaceutical aid project in Rwanda supported by the Farmacie Mondiaal Foundation.
The GIMS Foundation drafted its own, and quite broad, definition for the phrase ‘Medication Safety’: “Minimize health risks originated by the global use of medicine”.
To minimize the health risks originated by the global use of medicine, GIMS aims at creating awareness, insights and responsibility in the whole of the medical chain (also industry!), health care governance and patients worldwide. Academic research into the theme helps in creating insights and data.
GIMS foundation, with its ambition to serve as an (inter)national Expert- & Project Centre on Medication Safety related issues, focuses on supporting responsible parties in the medical chain and health care governance to improve the level of professionalism of the legislation, processes and structures of prescribing and dispensing of medicines and guidance of patients in how to use medicine.
In order to get better insight in the actual situation in a country, for all the stakeholders, a structured scientific analysis is needed. Currently, a theoretical research framework for such an analysis is lacking. By realising a valued research model GIMS hopes to contribute.
Goals
1) Create a theoretical research framework, i.e. a (international applicable) screening and rating model of all structures, processes, actors, factors and the corresponding critical dynamics (Attitude, Knowledge, Tools) between them, concerning Medication Safety in a country (to be called the ‘GIMS model’).
2) Evaluate and adapt the screening model.
3) Produce an article, e.g. for the Pharmaceutical Weekly.
Methods
1) First more information about the structures, processes, actors, factors and the corresponding critical dynamics regarding medication safety will be gained and has to be analysed. Also existing rating models will be used as a source of information. With the gained information ascreening and rating model for global use regarding medication safety will be formulated (the 1.0 version).
2) The designed model will be validated based on the Dutch situation.
3) The model and its results will be evaluated by gathering opinions from a selection of HCP’s, scientists, policy makers and other relevant parties.
4) The comments and feedback will lead to an adapted model; the 2.0 version.
Techniques
This is a qualitative research which has to take into account also socio economic and policy aspects. First, the research framework will be build according to appropriate standards. Scientific articles, books and webpages will be used as the main sources of information.
Secondly, similar sources will be used to validate the model. The validation will be complemented with interviews with scientists, policy makers and HCP’s.
The resulting MSc-thesis will be used to create an article.
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The ‘GIMS model’ for the screening and rating of Medication Safety in a country