On May 30 and 31, an international meeting was held at the Panum Tower in Copenhagen of the HAPPY PATIENT project of the European Union, which fights against the arbitrary prescription of antibiotics in the 5 countries where it is most prevalent.
HAPPY PATIENT (The Health Alliance for Prudent Prescription and Yield of Antibiotics from a Patient-Centred Perspective) is the first European project that fights against the increase in antimicrobial resistance simultaneously at all levels of care (Primary Care, Emergency Services, Nursing homes and Pharmacies).
Due to the pandemic, the meeting, which took place on May 30 and 31, 2022, was the first face-to-face event after 18 months of work and meetings in virtual format. In this sense, the Copenhagen session was organized by the Danish partners of HAPPY PATIENT, the University of Southern Denmark and the University of Copenhagen.
Antimicrobial Resistance: Unpredictable Consequences
Antimicrobial resistance is a growing problem with important and unpredictable consequences. It is estimated that today around 700,000 people worldwide die each year from infections with bacteria that have developed resistance to antibiotics. The World Health Organization estimates that the number will grow to 10 million people annually by 2050. This is more than the number of people dying from cancer today. The World Bank has defined this threat as “a slow tsunami”.
Combating antimicrobial resistance is essential if antibiotics are to continue to play a key role in treating infections.
Denmark has been at the forefront of antimicrobial resistance research for many years and is therefore also part of the HAPPY PATIENT research project, said Professor Lars Bjerrum of the Center for General Medicine at the University of Copenhagen.
HAPPY PATIENT seeks to reduce the development of antimicrobial resistance by reducing the inappropriate use of antibiotics against common socially acquired infections, such as respiratory and urinary tract infections.
18 months of intense work: Almost 10,000 prescription cases analyzed
The HAPPY PATIENT consortium is analyzing the arbitrary prescription of antibiotics at four levels of care, to achieve the goal of reducing it by 40% in 5 target countries.
To do this, during the first 18 months of the project, the partners have begun to audit real cases of prescription in health centers and family doctor consultations, in emergency services, pharmacies and nursing homes, and to analyze them. All data is being monitored and analyzed by researchers at the University of Southern Denmark.
While awaiting the validated and definitive results, it does seem relevant to note that, to date, data has been collected on practically 10,000 cases, specifically 9,111, with the following ratio by healthcare levels:
General Practice: 3.941 registered cases
Out-of-Hours Services: 1.968 registered cases
Nursing homes: 704 registeres cases
Community Pharmacists: 2.498 registered cases
If you wish to be informed about the updates of the project, you can sign up to our Newsletter here [+].
HAPPY PATIENT first face-to-face meeting videos:
Check full Photo gallery of the meeting on semFYC’s website [+]
Out-of-Hours Services – Secondary Care HAPPY PATIENT 
NORCE Norwegian Research Centre AS in HAPPY PATIENT 
NORCE Norwegian Research Centre AS in HAPPY PATIENT 
NORCE Norwegian Research Centre AS in HAPPY PATIENT 
Carl Llor – HAPPY PATIENT’s Coordinator (IDIAP, ICS, semFYC) 
NORCE Norwegian Research Centre AS in HAPPY PATIENT 
NORCE Norwegian Research Centre AS in HAPPY PATIENT 
Region Hovedstaden in HAPPY PATIENT 
UNIVERSYTET MEDYCZNY W LODZI – CENTRE HOSPITALIER UNIVERSITAIRE DE RENNES (CHURE) 
Universiy of Copenhagen in HAPPY PATIENT 
Universiy of Copenhagen in HAPPY PATIENT 
Universiy of Copenhagen in HAPPY PATIENT 
Universiy of Copenhagen in HAPPY PATIENT 
Universiy of Copenhagen in HAPPY PATIENT 
semFYC Spanish Society of Family and Community Medicine in HAPPY PATIENT 
semFYC Spanish Society of Family and Community Medicine in HAPPY PATIENT 
HAPPY PATIENT Consortium picture