This year, World Patient Safety Day is dedicated to engaging patients for patient safety. Involving patients in health promotion and research has proven to increase both relevancy and effectiveness. Our network is extremely grateful for the contributions of our many patient and public partners over the years, who have contributed to our success by:
- Creating new public resources and providing valuable feedback that shapes the development of new tools, articles, and information sheets.
- Providing feedback on the direction of our activities, including our research, policy work, healthcare provider education, and public awareness campaigns.
- Organizing and giving in-person or virtual presentations about medication overload and deprescribing.
- Sharing brochures and articles online, by mail, at meetings and events.
- Talking to decision-makers about why appropriate use of medications —and not just affordability and access to medications—is important to them!
- Championing medication safety with their organizations!
Our patient and public partners are the heart of our organization…to each of you, a BIG thank you from us!
Johanna
Johanna Trimble is a founding member of the network, as well as a past co-chair and current member of the Public Awareness Committee.
“When I began advocacy work on over-medication over 12 years ago, nobody quite knew what I was talking about. I would say—“many older people are on too many drugs and it can seriously harm them! I know because it’s happened in my family more than once.” But often friends with older parents did understand. I would hear this repeatedly: “they keep giving my Mom more drugs but she just gets worse not better.”
“CADeN has reinforced and legitimized my personal experience with over-medication issues. It’s no longer just my own opinion and experience that I bring to my community work but the backing of the doctors and pharmacists that I work with in CADeN. We’re working towards the same goal of patient health and safety. We’ve been able to write information in plain, not medical, language for public handouts on pharmaceuticals. I am confident using them as they have been checked for accuracy by our CADeN experts. I can use these freely at community events, meetings and workshops for both the public and for medical professionals. Personally, I now have a feeling of camaraderie with professionals that I value highly. Some of our public informational handouts have been taken up internationally and it has been tremendously gratifying that our work is known and used beyond Canada.”
Jerry
Jerry Gosling is a member of the Seniors’ Health and Wellness Institute of the Council of Senior Citizens Organizations (COSCO) of BC. He has been championing deprescribing and encouraging older adults to ask their healthcare professionals, “Do I still need this medication?” since 2018.
“The most rewarding for me in working with CADeN was having a pharmacist accompany me when I gave workshops on deprescribing. The results were incredible as attendees were lined up around the room wanting to have a short chat with Pharmacist Doug Danforth (pictured above—right)…I will keep up promoting CADeN in my workshops which will bring more awareness.”
Fiona
Fiona Lam is a program worker with the Yee Hong Caregiver Education and Resource Centre in Richmond Hill, Ontario. She has been working with CADeN over the past year to equip Chinese seniors with information to help them manage their medications.
“It is my pleasure to work with the CADeN team to foster positive change in the community, especially for our seniors and caregivers. Working with your team helps us to identify common issues of medication use and to bring useful resources on medication safety to our clients. Thank you CADeN!”
Make Your Voice Heard: Join our Public Awareness Committee or become a Patient Partner!
- Ever worried about the medications friends or loved ones are taking?
- Interested in promoting medication safety in your community and province?
- Connect with people passionate about medication safety issues across Canada.
- Help design research that impacts your community.
Our Public Awareness Committee is recruiting new members. Click here for full details of Public Awareness Committee member opportunities!
For more information, contact Jennie our Patient and Community Engagement Lead: Jennie.Herbin@rimuhc.ca
Our Scientific Director presents at the International Society for Pharmacovigilance Patient Safety Day conference!
On September 8th, 2023, our Scientific Director Dr. Emily McDonald gave a presentation to more than 100 clinicians and researchers worldwide as part of the International Society of Pharmacovigilance Patient Safety Day event. Her presentation, “Engaging Patients & Communities for Safer Medication Use,” emphasized our approach to patient and public engagement as well as how we are working to uphold equity, diversity and inclusion.
ISMP Canada celebrates World Patient Safety Day 2023!
Join the Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP) Canada for a webinar in celebration of World Patient Safety Day. The theme of the webinar is patient/provider collaborations that improve medication safety for Canadians.
Time: Wednesday, September 20th at 12 p.m., Eastern Time
Don’t miss our upcoming International Journal Club meeting on Sept 20th!
Who is this journal club for?
This journal club is for clinicians and researchers around the globe looking to connect and discuss recent deprescribing publications and complex clinical cases. The Canadian Medication Appropriateness and Deprescribing Network works with international partners to host the sessions.
Speaker: Dr. Ariel Green (MD, MPH, PhD) – Associate Professor of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University
Topic: Lessons from a pilot of ALIGN: Aligning Medications with What Matters Most
Host: US Deprescribing Research Network
Description: ALIGN is a pragmatic, pharmacist-led telehealth intervention in primary care to optimize medications for people living with dementia and reduce inappropriate polypharmacy by focusing on what matters most to patients and care partners. Dr. Green will present on key learnings from the ALIGN pilot, implementation successes and challenges, and plans for a full-scale embedded pragmatic clinical trial.
Date and time: Wednesday September 20, 2023 @11-12 PM (New York, USA)
Other time zones:
Wednesday, September 20, 2023 @4-5 PM (London, UK)
Wednesday, September 20, 2023 @8-9 AM (San Francisco, USA)
Thursday, September 21, 2023 @1-2 AM (Melbourne, Australia)
Click here for more information or to Register
Polypharmacy and Sustainable Development Goals: Linking evidence-based medicine, patient engagement, and shared decision-making.
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are an urgent call for action adopted by the United Nations to improve health and education, reduce inequality, and spur economic growth. SDGs feature patient safety as a priority, as it is a crucial issue in the promotion of health and well-being.
This article reviews how to improve patient safety by conducting polypharmacy management based on patient engagement and shared decision-making. Click here to read article.
Become a Research Affiliate!
Our network brings together affiliated medication appropriateness and deprescribing researchers from across Canada and abroad who work in various areas, including the health sciences, political science, economics, technology… to name just a few!
Would you like to become a research affiliate? Contact us.
The Canadian Medication Appropriateness and Deprescribing Network (CADeN) is a group of clinicians, educators, people with lived experience, policymakers, and researchers. We work together to produce, share, and apply information to promote the safe and appropriate use of medications.
To learn more, visit DeprescribingNetwork.ca