Intervention study to ensure appropriate and safe drug utilization in children and adolescents
Description
Children and adolescents are disadvantaged in terms of pharmaceutical care because drug effects are often tested only in adults. As a result, many drugs are used off-label in children. However, the circulatory system and internal organs of children and adolescents are still developing and often react differently than those of adults to drugs. . Drug use in children is thus often associated with an increased risk. The project (short title: KiDSafe) aims to make drug therapy safer for children and adolescents and to reduce the risk of unwanted side effects. A digital pediatric drug information system will be introduced together with pediatric pharmacological expert panels for quality assurance in twelve representative pediatric clinics and the referring pediatric practices. The systematic recording of adverse drug reactions and medication errors will reveal potential risks of drugs. The effectiveness of this new form of care will be continuously evaluated. It will also be evaluated whether the costs for drug treatment will go down, for example, by the decrease of drug-related hospital admissions. Clinics in which the information system is already in place will be compared with clinics where it still remains to be introduced. KiDSafe will be funded with a total of about six million euros for three years. If successful, this new form of care could be introduced into standard care nationwide in Germany. All doctors treating children with medication within the statutory health insurance system could directly apply the new quality standards. Pharmacies could also participate in this measure. Similar forms of care are also conceivable in geriatrics.
Contact PD Dr. rer. nat. Dr. med. habil. Antje Neubert University Hospital Erlangen Loschgestraße 15 91054 Erlangen, Germany 0049 9131 8541203 antje.neubert@uk-erlangen.de
Consortium partners Robert Bosch Society for Medical Research, University of Leipzig, University Hospital Leipzig, University Hospital Aachen, Leibniz Institute for Prevention Research and Epidemiology - BIPS, Die Techniker (TK)
