PSI welcomes Health Research Board funding award for innovative patient and public involvement project with RCSI

The PSI‒ the Pharmacy Regulator welcomes the decision by the Health Research Board (HRB) to award funding to an innovative new applied research project to identify and develop evidence-based practical strategies to incorporate patient and public involvement (PPI) into the regulation of pharmacy and healthcare professionals. On completion, the findings will identify effective ways of engagement and collaboration that support a patient-centred approach and make certain the patient’s voice is heard. The work has the potential to benefit other healthcare regulatory bodies, in Ireland and globally, who can adapt learnings into respective regulatory approaches. 

Under the HRB’s Applied Partnership Award, the majority funding contribution of €200,000 is awarded to the PSI and Royal College of Surgeons Ireland (RCSI) for the two-year PARTNER project – Optimising Public and Patient Involvement in Regulation of Pharmacy and Healthcare Professions. The research is led by Professor Michelle Flood at the School of Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences, RCSI, with whom the PSI made the joint application for funding at the end of 2024. Professor Flood is also the current All-Island Lead of the PPI Ignite Network.

The PSI will act as the principal case-study for the research, facilitating the development of strategies that will enable the integration of patient and public perspectives into its regulatory approach. The work is collaborative, delving into the public and patient perspective, national and international experiences, and including experienced academics and researchers. 

This latest development further demonstrates PSI’s commitment to ensuring its regulatory approach is centred on its mandate to protect and promote public health and safety, and, in doing so, ensuring engagement with those experiencing pharmacy care. It builds on the objectives of the PSI’s Corporate Strategy to further enhance patient and public engagement, to ensure a patient-centred approach and as part of its overall commitment to assure trust in pharmacy. 

Welcoming the news, Joanne Kissane, Registrar and Chief Officer of the PSI, said:

“It aligns with our commitment to person-centred regulation that is underpinned by evidence-based research and data. The project findings and recommendations will enable the PSI to further enhance the means and methods by which we collaborate and engage with patients and the public, and to ensure that a patient-centred approach is at the core of our work. We are delighted to have commenced this important research and to be working closely with Professor Michelle Flood at RCSI, and the fantastic wider team.”
 

Highlighting the importance of the partnership, Professor Michelle Flood at the School of Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences, RCSI, said:

“We at RCSI are proud to work alongside the PSI as a research partner in this important and evolving area of patient and public involvement, helping to shape more inclusive and patient-centred approaches to regulation.”

Further information: 

This PARTNER research project is part funded by the Health Research Board Ireland APA-2024-053.

In October 2024, the PSI opened an expression of interest process, seeking an experienced researcher(s) in Ireland interested in partnering with the PSI as a Lead Applicant – Researcher for the purpose of applying for the Health Research Board (HRB) Applied Partnership Award (APA). Following this process, Professor Michelle Flood at RCSI was selected by the PSI and the application for funding was made by RCSI and PSI under the Applied Partnership Awards (APA) scheme in December 2024. 

The APA is designed to bring knowledge users and researchers together to collaborate on research that addresses a documented need within the Irish health or social care system. Knowledge users (in this case, the PSI) must be closely involved in the research process, from idea formulation to dissemination and implementation, optimising knowledge translation into policy and practice. 

For more about the Health Research Board visit www.hrb.ie. 

For more about RCSI visit www.rcsi.com.