FKL – The Research Centre for Quality in Medicine Use
The Research Centre for Quality in Medicine Use (FKL - Forskningscenter for Kvalitetssikret Lægemiddelanvendelse) was established in 1999. The overall objectives of the programme are to provide scientific evidence to optimise the professionals’ therapeutic practices and the population's medicine use. The demand for the centre’s research emanates from the problems related to medicine use. Medicines are the dominating technology in health care and in the population’s self care, and the consumption of medicines increases continuously. Expenses for public reimbursement of medicines are increasing dramatically. A wide variety of medicine related problems are commonplace in practice. The problems embrace e.g. interactions; troublesome, invalidating and fatal side-effects; lack of effect; over- and underuse; and misuse. In addition, practical problems with administration of medicines and socio-economic conditions may contribute to irrational medicine use. The prevalence of problems is unequally distributed in different population groups.
FKL constitutes an umbrella aiming at taking research needs into account by
- Analysing associations between medicine use and the population's health, health behaviours, socio-economic and psycho-social conditions
- Analysing associations between prescribing behaviours and practice characteristics and performances
- Exploring creation of knowledge about effects and adverse effects of medicines
- Exploring the users’ experiences, assessments and strategies in medicine use
- Exploring the physicians’ intentions, rationales, and strategies in relation to medicine prescribing
- Interventions in health care aiming at optimising medicine use, including evaluation of processes and effects
- Analysing activities and processes in pharmacy practice
To achieve the Centre’s objectives, the approach is multidisciplinary, inter-professional and trans-institutional. The researchers involved in the Centre’s activities represent multiple disciplines including clinical pharmacy, epidemiology, general practice, health economics, health policy, psychology, public health, social pharmacy and sociology. Groups from the following academic and public institutions participate in the Centre:
The Capital Region of Denmark, Department of Plan and Development, www.regionhovedstaden.dk
The Danish Pharmaceutical Association, www.apotekerforeningen.dk
The Institute for Rational Pharmacotherapy - IRF, www.irf.dk
The National Institute of Public Health - SIF, www.si-folkesundhed.dk
Pharmakon, www.pharmakon.dk
The Region of Southern Denmark, Department of Practice, www.regionsyddanmark.dk
The Region of Zealand, Department for Quality and Development, www.regionsjaelland.dk
The Swedish Network for Pharmacoepidemiology - NEPI, www.nepi.net
University of Copenhagen, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Section for Social Pharmacy, www.farma.ku.dk
University of Copenhagen, Institute of Public Health, www.pubhealth.ku.dk
University of Copenhagen, The Research Unit for General Practice in Copenhagen, www.gpract.ku.dk
University of Southern Denmark, CAST - Centre for Applied Public Health and Technology Assessment, www.cast.sdu.dk
University of Southern Denmark, Institute of Public Health, www.sdu.dk
The Centre is managed by the University and directed by Professor Ebba Holme Hansen of the Section for Social Pharmacy.
The nature of the Centre’s research implies the application of a variety of research types: from analytical, descriptive and comprehending to interventions and action research.
The Centre for Quality in Medicine Use embraces a range of projects. The 1991 Pharmacy Foundation has been the major external sponsor of the Centre’s activities. Funding is also provided by the Danish Medical Research Council’s Regional Fund for Eastern Denmark, the Health Insurance Fund, the Foundation for Financing Research in General Practice and in the Health Services (The Research Foundation), and various private funds. Information about projects, meetings, publications etc. is available on the website: http://fkl-center.dk/
