The Health Innovation Network Polypharmacy Programme is working with healthcare professionals to address problematic polypharmacy by supporting easier identification of patients at potential risk from harm from multiple medications. Our evidence-based polypharmacy Action Learning Sets (ALS) are being rolled out across England to support GPs, pharmacists and other healthcare professionals who undertake prescribing or medication reviews to understand the complex issues around stopping inappropriate medicines safely. To drive and accelerate changes in practice, delegates complete a quality improvement project to address problematic polypharmacy in their workplace. This poster summary, SBAR Patient Engagement Tool, can be viewed here. For more information about the polypharmacy programme, please visit https://thehealthinnovationnetwork.co.uk/programmes/medicines/polypharmacy/

1. SBAR: Patient Engagement Pathway
The polypharmacy programme led by Health Innovation Yorkshire and Humber (HIYH)
recognises that healthcare professionals and the public need to work together, and that public
behaviour change is integral to conversations about problematic polypharmacy.
I undertook a SBAR document to disseminate the work from Leeds University, Health
Innovation Network and the West Yorkshire SMR task and finish group, to roll out the new
patient engagement pathway across West Yorkshire .
The SBAR document was successfully presented by myself at
the WY medicines optimisation committee where chief
pharmacists from local Trusts and meds optimisation
pharmacists amongst other stakeholders. The document was
well received and the work disseminated . The public
engagement pathway is now widely available across WY and all
PCNs in WY use this when completing SMRs. The documents
are available to download on system 1 and PCNs who do not
use this, have been directed to the Wessex website .
Kirsty Bramley-Dove
To develop a SBAR document for the roll out of the
patient engagement pathway across WY. An SBAR
document is widely used at corporate NHS level to share
and review new ideas/ products and services.
SBAR components are as follows:
S- situation
B-background
A-action
R-Recommendations
• Task and finish group to disseminate the
information and recommendations from this
paper regionally. To take this paper to the
medicines optimisation group.
• Encourage pharmacists who undertake SMRs
to attend the polypharmacy action learning
sets, as also recommended by Professor Tony
Avery.
• Link : Polypharmacy Action Learning Set
Cohort 11 | Jan 24 (weahsn.net)
• Ask Pharmacists and GPs to attend the COP to
discuss patient engagement and SMR (rolling
out the three core components), increasing the
awareness of these components.
• Evaluation of the AHSN National Polypharmacy
programme’, Health Innovation Network, June
2023.
• https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/na
tional-overprescribing-review-report
• https://bmcmededuc.biomedcentral.com/article
s/10.1186/s12909-022-03556-8
• https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/govern
ment/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data
/file/1019475/good-for-you-good-for-us-good-
for-everybody.pdf
• Payne, RA; Abel,GA; Avery,AJ; Mercer,SW and
Roland,MO. (2014) ‘Is polypharmacy always
hazardous? A retrospective cohort analysis
using linked electronic health records from
primary and secondary care’, Br J Clin
Pharmacol, 77(6):1073-82.
doi:10.1111/bcp.12292
•