Objective:

This study reports on the results of a project conducted by the Spanish Society of Hospital Pharmacy with patients with immune-mediated inflammatory diseases, with the following objectives: to understand the experience of patients living with these diseases and the role of healthcare workers in such experience, and to identify opportunities to promote or boost humanization in hospital pharmacy units.

Method:

A user-centered design methodology was used, implementing exploratory and qualitative research tools. Led by a managing team made up of experts in the methodology, a variety of people participated in this project. The team comprised representatives of patients with immunemediated inflammatory diseases, healthcare workers responsible for their care, members of the immune-mediated inflammatory disease working group of the Spanish Society of Hospital Pharmacy, and members of two patient advocacy organizations (Spanish Association of Persons with Chronic Immune-Mediated Inflammatory Diseases and the Spanish Association of Patients with Psoriasis). The research tools used included indepth interviews, patients’ diaries, ethnographic studies, and co-creation workshops.

Results:

Five initiatives were identified as best practices to be implemented: The creation of functional or comprehensive care units; shared medical records; integration of patient-reported outcomes with patient experiences; implementation of the “capacity, motivation, opportunity” pharmaceutical care model; and a closer interaction with patient advocacy organizations. Six opportunities to improve the current situation were selected as priority areas for hospital pharmacy departments: spreading knowledge about immune-mediated inflammatory diseases; promoting a multidisciplinary approach to these diseases; generating awareness on the role of hospital pharmacists; revisiting the internal organization of pharmacy departments; establishing closer relationships with patients; and seeing things from the patients’ point of view. Ten smart humanization initiatives were proposed and classified in an impact-effort matrix: “Demystifying IMID”, “IMID teen challenge”, “Patient‑care academy”, “Satellite consultation“, “IMID network”, “A click away from the pharmacy”, Medicines poker”, “Patient-to-patient consultation”, “Pharma-friendly consultation”, and “Patient-centered IMID sessions”.

Conclusions:

This Annex to the Spanish Society of Hospital Pharmacy’s Guidelines for the Humanization of Hospital Pharmacy Units intends to promote a humanizing culture, bringing to the fore the unique value of every single patient suffering from an immune-mediated inflammatory disease, including their family and friends and their beliefs and needs, preserving their dignity.