Since January 2021, the Discontinuation Clinic (Afbouwpoli) of GGZ inGeest has been helping patients from all over the Netherlands with stopping antidepressants using a multidisciplinary approach involving psychiatrists, pharmacists, nurse specialists, psychologists, and patients.

This Innovation project is made possible by the SGS Fund of Zilveren Kruis and focuses on the further development of the Discontinuation Clinic into an Expertise Center for Discontinuation of Antidepressants (ECDA). The projects aims to disclose and disseminate knowledge gathered at the ECDA and to further the cooperation in discontinuation care between general practitioners, pharmacists and medical specialists in the region of greater Amsterdam.

Aim Knowledge dissemination: A database will be set up containing data of patients who are or have been treated at the Discontinuation Clinic. A data extraction pipeline will be developed to process the collected patient data, which can later serve as a tool for guiding new patients.
Aim Collaboration: Good practices will be identified at various FTOs (pharmaceutical care organizations) in the Amsterdam region, focusing on how healthcare providers can collaborate to guide patients through the discontinuation process. This will include a clear description of roles, responsibilities, and communication lines within the network. During a pilot phase, this experiential knowledge will be applied and evaluated.
Aim Knowledge sharing: Based on collected data and existing knowledge, educational materials will be developed for patients and healthcare providers about discontinuing antidepressants. This includes guidelines for improving interdisciplinary collaboration within existing care structures and processes, publications in Dutch and English journals, implementation of acquired knowledge into guidelines and informational messages, expert interviews, and patient stories on social media and mainstream media.