Spotlight on Medimate during the spring conference of the Dutch Psychiatry Association.
From Wednesday 11 to Friday 13 May 2022, the Dutch Association for Psychiatry held its spring congress. The organization has now been in existence for 150 years, which is why three days were devoted to the past, present and future of psychiatry.
And in the context of that future, innovative developments were a central topic. Under the leadership of day chairman Ralph Kupka (professor of Psychiatry – Bipolar Disorders), innovations in the field of the treatment of people with bipolar disorder were highlighted (see the post) of Lisette Rops about this.
Nursing Specialist Marius Reijnen (GGzE) put his experiences with the Point-of-Care measurements of lithium with the Medimate in the spotlight. In his lecture, he discussed various advantages of POCT measurements in ambulatory care and in the outpatient clinic.
Having the measurement results immediately available means that they can be discussed with the patient at the same time. This offers the possibility to make necessary adjustments during the consultation, for example in the dosage. This makes lithium therapy safer and more effective.
In addition, there are strong indications from clinical practice that there are positive effects on the patient's commitment to his lithium therapy when directly discussing the measurement results.
The GGzE's Bipolar Center has now included these POCT measurements in standard care. This means that in addition to measurements during the setting protocol, during interim dose changes and in crisis situations, it is also used for lithium maintenance protocol.
During his lecture, Marius also discussed the costs of POCT measurements versus those performed by a laboratory. Due to the adjustment to the reimbursement system a year ago, the total costs for measurement with the Medimate or via a laboratory have come into balance.
This has improved the climate for mental health care institutions to apply the benefits of POCT measurements themselves in their care for patients who are prescribed lithium as medication.
Furthermore, Marius emphasized the accuracy of the measurements with the Medimate and the smart method with which the measurement data can be recorded directly in the patient file.
'My colleagues at GGz-Eindhoven and I are therefore very positive about the POCT measurements of lithium with the Medimate,' Marius reports about his experiences with the Medimate.
In the coming period, Marius will regularly share his and his team's findings about performing regular measurements with the Medimate.
For example during the online Expert Tables that are organized through the collaboration between GGz-Eindhoven and Fisic - Medimate and by sharing information here via LinkedIn.
