HAPPY PATIENT, a project to optimize the use of antibiotics, enters its last year

The excessive or inappropriate use of antibiotics is the main cause of the development and spread of AMR (Antimicrobial Resistance), declared by the World Health Organization as one of the 10 main global threats facing humanity. In Spain alone, according to the 2021 report of the Spanish Agency for Medicines and Health Products (AEMPS), more than 4 million serious infections and 2,800 deaths per year were related to RAM.

In this sense, the HAPPY PATIENT (The Health Alliance for Prudent Prescription and Yield of Antibiotics from a Patient-Centred Perspective) is a project with European funding (3rd Health Programme) coordinated by ICS and IDIAPJGol, with dr. Carles Llor of the GRIP group of the IDIAPJGol as coordinator, together with Dra. Ana Moragas, Daniela Modena, Ana Garcia-Sangenís and Dra. Rosa Morros.

The consortium is made up of institutions from 9 European countries and aims to reduce the inappropriate use of antibiotics in 4 sectors (primary care, primary care emergencies, geriatric homes and community pharmacies) and 5 countries (France, Greece , Lithuania, Poland and Spain).

The project has begun its third year with a meeting of the consortium in Gran Canaria, where all the milestones achieved were reviewed and the roadmap for the following months was proposed. Some of the moments of the meeting are collected in the following video.

In the multifaceted intervention designed to improve antibiotic use in the 4 sectors, more than 400 professionals from the 5 countries are participating, now facing the registration of the second audit. One of the cornerstones of this intervention is the improvement of professional patient communication, and the consortium has developed specific communication tools to facilitate this. These tools are the final result of a DELPHI study with the aim of prioritizing key messages on the appropriate use of antibiotics, infection management and antimicrobial resistance in the 4 sectors, where more than 40 professionals from all the countries

The 6 communication tools consist of:

• An informational poster about the most likely cause of the patient's infection.
• An information leaflet on urinary tract infections in the elderly.
• A non-antibiotic prescription with advice and safety net for the patient.
• Myths about urinary tract infections in nursing homes.
• The checklist for the prescription and dispensing of antibiotics.
• Information postcards with messages related to antimicrobial resistance.

These tools have been suitable in the 5 participating countries and have been very well received by professionals, who this year are using them in their daily lives. You can consult the communication tools in English here.