Preparations for the first INTERPOLAR study on drug safety completed | 4th INTERPOLAR Day in Leipzig
The first year of INTERPOLAR, a clinical use case of the Medical Informatics Initiative (MII), is almost over. The project has come a step closer to its first milestone: The implementation of the INTERPOLAR studies. In the INTERPOLAR project, 18 partners from different disciplines are working on improving drug therapy safety using digital solutions. To this end, an algorithm for detecting adverse drug interactions is to be tested in two multicenter studies at 15 university hospitals.
Last week, around 70 project workers met at the Albertina Library at Leipzig University as part of the 4th INTERPOLAR Day to discuss the next steps in the INTERPOLAR studies, among other things. Most of the participants were INTERPOLAR employees from hospital pharmacy, pharmacology, medical informatics and the Data Integration Centers of the participating university hospitals.
The preparations for the first INTERPOLAR study have already been largely completed. The INTERPOLAR team is currently working together on the study protocol. The aim of this study is to prove that ward pharmacists in hospitals with digital support can identify and resolve more medication-related problems than those in standard care without IT support. The multi-center study design provides for the same study to be conducted at several university hospital locations (Leipzig, Jena, Hamburg, Bonn, Erlangen, Munich, Dresden and Heidelberg).
The discussions also focused on the positioning of the algorithms and the implementation of IT-based support within the framework of the Medical Devices Act. Prefabricated software solutions (e.g. algorithms, electronic test forms, databases) are to be delivered to the locations so that they can be integrated into the local solutions on site as part of the so-called “in-house production”. The participants also critically discussed the coordinated documentation of drug-related problems and its potential effects on the study.
Finally, a standardized process model for medication management was discussed together with the participating university hospitals, which includes all relevant data as well as the communication and coordination of all clinical stakeholders involved (patients, doctors, pharmacists, nursing staff). This model was developed and presented by Dr. Daniel Neumann (University of Leipzig) and Anna Böhmer (University Hospital Bonn) in cooperation with Andreas Fischer, Dr. Saskia Berger (University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus Dresden), Dr. Heike Hilgarth (ADKA – Bundesverband Deutscher Krankenhausapotheker e.V.) and all ward pharmacists at the partner sites.
The next INTERPOLAR Day will take place on March 6 and 7, 2024, once again at the Albertina Library and BioCity Leipzig.