Samenvatting
2025 ILC Annual International Conference , 16th & 17 June, 2025, Genoa, Italy, Global Collaboration,Local Action for Fundamentals of Care Innovation
An international group of experts has joined forces for the further development of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in relation to the Fundamentals of Care (FoC) framework. AI, or its categories like machine learning and deep learning, offers potential to identify patterns in healthcare data, develop clinical prediction models, and derive insights from large datasets. For example, algorithms can be created to detect the start of the palliative phase based on electronic health records, or to inform nursing decisions based on lifestyle monitoring data for older adults. These AI applications significantly influence nurses' roles, the nurse-client relationship and nurses’ professional identity.
Consequently, nurses must take responsibility to ensure that AI applications align with person-centered fundamental care, professional ethics, equity, and social justice. Thus, nursing leadership is essential to lead the development and use of AI applications that support nursing care according to the FoC framework, and enhance patient outcomes.
The aim of the current project is to explore nurses’ responsibility for how AI adds value to the FoC framework.
Firstly, nurse leaders play a vital role in overseeing the quality and relevance of data collected in daily practice, as these data are foundational for AI algorithms. The elements as articulated in the FoC framework should be the building blocks for any algorithm. These building blocks can be linked to clinical and social conditions, and life stages, building from the basis of the individual's human needs.
Secondly, it is crucial for nurses to participate in the interdisciplinary teams that develop AI algorithms. Their participation and expertise ensure that algorithms are co-created with an understanding of the needs of their clients, maximizing the potential for positive outcomes. In addition to education, policy, and regulation, a nurse-led, interdisciplinary research program is needed to investigate the relationship between AI applications, the FoC
framework and it’s impact on nurse-client relationships, nurses’ professional identity, and patient outcomes.
INNOVATION AND SAFETY IN POLYPHARMACY MANAGEMENT
Introduction
Managing polypharmacy in elderly patients represents a global challenge, with significant impacts on care safety and effectiveness. Interdisciplinary collaboration and the adoption of innovative digital tools, such as INTERCheck, offer opportunities to address these issues both locally and globally.
Aim
To explore the impact of a local initiative based on INTERCheck for medication reconciliation in elderly patients, while assessing the competencies of the nurses involved and promoting the scalability of the model at a global level.
Method
During World Patient Safety Day 2022, a multidisciplinary initiative in Italy engaged teams across 46 outpatient clinics in nine Italian regions, providing medication reconciliation services for patients over 65 on polypharmacy
regimens. INTERCheck was used to identify drug interactions and inappropriateness. Subsequently, an exploratory survey was administered to nurses to assess their knowledge, skills and experience using the tool.
Results
The initiative revealed that a significant number of nurses (14.3%) were unaware of Ministerial Recommendation No. 17 for patient safety, and 35.7% did not apply medication reconciliation in routine practice. Nevertheless, 93% of participants were familiar with INTERCheck, and 100% stated that the event enhanced their ability to use it to improve patient safety. Feedback from patients and general practitioners highlighted significant improvements in therapeutic management, with 71.4% of nurses reporting drug suspensions or substitutions to reduce perilous interactions or adverse effects.
Furthermore, 93% of nurses expressed a willingness to participate in further studies to consolidate the innovative practices adopted.
Discussion
This project serves as a concrete example of how local action can be supported by a global collaborative model. The systematic adoption of innovative tools, coupled with ongoing training, can transform local practices into scalable solutions to enhance polypharmacy management and tackle common challenges in fundamentals of care.
