Measure n°14 - Plan Alzheimer 2008

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Measures

01

Developing and diversifying respite structures
02

Consolidating rights and training for carers
03

Improving health monitoring for family carers
04

Quality labelling throughout the country for "single points of contact", the "Maisons pour l’Autonomie et l’Intégration des malades Alzheimer" (MAIA)
05

Establishing "coordinators" throughout the country
06

Reinforcing support at home, advocating services by trained staff
07

Improving support at home using new technologies
08

Preparing and implementing a system for giving the diagnosis and providing counselling
09

Experimenting new payment terms for health professionals
10

Creating an Alzheimer’s disease information card for each patient
11

Creating memory units in areas that are not covered
12

Creating "memory resource and research centres" in areas that are not covered
13

Reinforcing the very active memory units
14

Monitoring drug-related iatrogenic accidents
15

Improving correct use of drugs
16

Creating specific units for patients suffering from behavioural problems within EHPADs
17

Creating specialized units within health care rehabilitation and follow-up (SSR) departments for Alzheimer’s patients
18

Accommodation for young patients
19

Identifying a national reference centre for young Alzheimer’s patients
20

A specific career and skills development plan for Alzheimer’s disease
21

Creating a foundation for scientific cooperation to stimulate and coordinate scientific research
22

Developing clinical research of Alzheimer’s disease and improving evaluation of non-drug therapies
23

Doctoral and post-doctoral grants
24

New assistant surgeon and hospital teaching assistant positions
25

Research in human and social sciences
26

Support for research groups working on innovative approaches
27

Support for methodological research groups in human and social sciences
28

Creation of a body of research in automatic image processing
29

Studying large patient populations (cohorts) with long-term monitoring
30

High-speed genotyping
31

Exploiting the genome sequencing of the microcebe
32

Training in clinical epidemiology
33

Developing links between public research and industry
34

Setting up epidemiological surveillance and follow up
35

Setting up a telephone helpline and a website for information and local advice
36

Holding regional conferences to support the implementation of the plan
37

Studying disease knowledge and attitudes
38

Creating a space for ethical thought about Alzheimer’s disease
39

Launching a discussion about the legal status of Alzheimer’s patients in institutions
40

Organising regular meetings focusing on the autonomy of people suffering from Alzheimer’s disease
41

Informing patients and their families about trials implemented in France
42

Making the fight against Alzheimer’s disease a priority for the European Union during the French presidency
43

Publicizing and promoting research across Europe
44

Holding a European conference in autumn 2008
45

Studying opinion and attitude about Alzheimer’s disease and the impact of the plan among patients and carers

Accueil > 44 measures > Measure n°14

Measure n°14Version française

Monitoring drug-related iatrogenic accidents

To improve knowledge of iatrogenesis in Alzheimer’s patients and develop surveillance.

Measure

Developing partnerships with geriatrics centres or correspondents:
The Regional Drug safety Centres (Centres régionaux de Drug safety, CRPV, of which France has 31), due to their integration within university hospitals and their regionalisation, have already developed partnerships with geriatrics departments and correspondents in health centres or in independent practice with a high degree of contact with elderly patients. Certain CRPVs (such as Limoges and Caen) have also developed more specific gerontological approaches for collecting details of undesirable side-effects and researching medication in elderly people.

Training and informing geriatricians:
The CRPVs have an important role in the correct use of medication through three strongly developed activities:
1- collecting details of undesirable side-effects, accompanied by dialogue between the person making the report and the centre to evaluate the issue and return conclusions about the case.
2- requesting information about medication in order to respond to over 20,000 increasingly complex questions a year.
3- drug safety training as part of the curriculum for health professions and in continuing training. Currently the CRPV network provides over 2,700 hours of training.

These activities that are already in place could be targeted more at the specific aspect of training and information for geriatricians and health professionals providing care for elderly people and especially Alzheimer’s patients.

Undesirable side-effects from the National Drug safety Database - 2006

	Serious		Not Serious		Total
Age (years)	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%
Under 60	5135	49,1%	6345	62,5%	11480	55,7%
60-69	1463	14,0%	1438	14,2%	2901	14,1%
70-79	1909	18,3%	1331	13,1%	3240	15,7%
80-89	1582	15,1%	843	8,3%	2425	11,8%
90 and over	371	3,5%	189	1,9%	560	2,7%
Total	10460		10146		20606

Source: AFSSAPS

Surveying the prevalence of undesirable side-effects in Alzheimer’s patients
Carrying out a survey of prevalence with the method used in the 1998 hospital survey "Iatrogénie médicamenteuse : estimation de sa prévalence dans les hôpitaux publics français" (Drug-related iatrogenesis: estimation of its prevalence in French public hospitals). However, in order to obtain a representative sample of the population of Alzheimer’s patients, the survey should be carried out in both public and private institutions and should include residential centres for elderly dependent people (établissements d’hébergement pour personnes âgées dépendantes, EHPADs).

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