Letter to Members, Observers and Sister Fora
EuroPharm Forum News December 2009
Dear Colleagues and Friends
Soon, a new year will start. Having been involved in the activities of the EuroPharm Forum for many years and being President for the past 1˝ years, I notice that 2010 will focus on continuing the efforts within the Forum to be the body that empowers professional associations of pharmacists. The Executive Committee has held its first meeting since the General Assembly in October and approaches this challenge from a positive and pro-active perspective.
In November, the EuroPharm Forum was invited to participate in the
Pharmaceutical Care expert workshop of the European Directorate for the Quality of Medicines and Health Care (EDQM
). Vice-President of the Forum, Balázs Hankó, gave a presentation on the “Pharmacists’ Perspective on Pharmaceutical Care” and joined the following debate. Interestingly, according to the EDQM, Pharmaceutical Care is something that could be provided by all healthcare professionals. In its approach, the EDQM focuses merely on drug therapy. Based on this point of view, the EDQM wishes to define quality indicators for Pharmaceutical Care activities. In his report to me from the meeting, Mr Hankó has stated that he was the only one to position the community pharmacist on the Pharmaceutical Care map. This is indeed an interesting point of view, and I hope that we will continue to position the community pharmacist in the coming years, also in good collaboration with the
EDQM.
Also in terms of collaboration, I am very pleased to announce that the EuroPharm Forum and the
European Forum for Primary Care have agreed on establishing a mutual observer agreement. This collaboration is valued highly by the Executive Committee, as it provides a basis for us to be heard by other healthcare professionals in primary care and also to learn the perspectives of other actors in this field.
In the past, the EuroPharm Forum professional programme has been very comprehensive. However, in a year with limited resources, we have decided to focus on the following
professional practice domains:
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Metabolic Syndrome (Obesity, Diabetes and Cardiovascular Diseases)
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Mental Health
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Quality (Counterfeit and Health Systems)
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Safe and Effective use of Medicines (Self-medication, Antibiotic Resistance and Patient Safety)
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Education.
We have made it a
priority to achieve visible results in these areas between now and the next General Assembly (October 2010). With this in view, we invite and encourage all our professional peers to contribute to activities such as on-going – or new – discussions on the
Observatory and to participate in professional seminars.
Last week, we posted the final English version of the
Metabolic Syndrome Pharmaceutical Care Programme on the Observatory, and it is also posted on the Forum website. The programme was developed by the
Hungarian National Committee of Pharmaceutical Care and has since become a joint programme between our Hungarian colleagues and the EuroPharm Forum. I believe that it can easily be implemented into pharmacy practices in other countries as well. The programme is very well described and has been tested by our Hungarian colleagues. Please feel free to
post your experiences with the document or contribute to the debate on the Observatory.
Moreover, the EuroPharm Forum has taken the first steps towards planning a 2-day professional training seminar in April 2010. In the preliminary programme, the following themes figure: antibiotic resistance, metabolic syndrome, self-medication, and reimbursement of services. In the coming month, the programme will be developed in further detail, so please keep an eye out for our next Newsflash and our
website, where we will bring you more information about the contents and registration.
Among the challenges that this Executive Committee has taken upon itself in 2010 is the establishment of an Advisory Committee. Following the advice of members and friends, we have come to the conclusion that a small group of persons with authority will provide us with directions for the further development of professional pharmacy in Europe and of the role of the Forum. We hope to be able to provide you with the outcomes of this working group in due course.
I hereby send you all the best for the Holiday Season, and I wish you a very good 2010.
Best regards
Dick Tromp
President, EuroPharm Forum
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