European Hospital Pharmacy Blog

World Cancer Day 2012: EAHP and ESOP issue joint call for pharmacist development to advance cancer care

2012-02-11T19:01:00.000+02:00

Press release: WORLD CANCER DAY 2012

On the eve of World Cancer Day the European Association of Hospital Pharmacists (EAHP) and the European Society of Oncology Pharmacy (ESOP) issued a joint call for hospital pharmacist development in order to further advance cancer patient care and outcomes.

Press RELEASE

Brussels, 3 February 2012

Release: Immediate

WORLD CANCER DAY 2012: EAHP AND ESOP ISSUE JOINT CALL FOR PHARMACIST DEVELOPMENT TO ADVANCE CANCER CARE

Pharmacists play a key part in cancer care in such roles as medical oncology, haematology, palliative care and chemotherapy preparation services. Appropriately trained and competent pharmacists are responsible for accurate preparation, dispensing and clinical verification of patients’ chemotherapy, targeted therapy and supportive medication orders.

However both EAHP and ESOP are ambitious to see further development of the pharmacist’s role in cancer treatment and see unrealised opportunities at the European and national level for increasing the input of pharmacist expertise to treatment decisions and the patient experience. The two organisations have therefore issued a short 5 point summary of recommendations to national and international health policy makers:

1. Recognise the need to encourage the role of the pharmacist in multiprofessional cancer care teams. This helps to ensure flexibility of service, best use of workforce skills and best outcomes for patients;

2. Promote the concept of having a lead oncology pharmacist in cancer centres to manage and organise pharmaceutical care;

3. Develop and implement clear Standards in the management and assessment of chemotherapy treatment and the quality of oncology clinical pharmacy service provision;

4. Appreciate the specialised nature of hospital pharmacy, and the hospital pharmacist’s particular expertise in working with specialised and novel medications; and,

5. Support high standards in hospital pharmacy service through the development of accredited and certified hospital pharmacy qualifications, including oncology

Dr Roberto Frontini, President of the EAHP said: “Every one of us is affected by cancer and all of us will know someone taken by this prevalent class of disease. We all therefore have a direct stake in seeing continuous improvement of cancer care across Europe. Central to achieving that is advancing the role of the hospital pharmacist in the treatment pathway. EAHP and ESOP’s 5 point plan provides a framework that we urge health policy makers to give thought to on World Cancer Day as they consider how to improve cancer care in their jurisdiction.”

Klaus Meier, President of ESOP said: “Improving the standard of cancer care in Europe requires close collaboration across professions, health systems and countries. ESOP and EAHP are working together to raise educational and service standards in hospital and oncology pharmacy across all our member countries. However, to achieve this in full we need the support of health policy planners at all levels. We hope this 5 point plan can form a basis for securing greater levels of practical support.”

ENDS

For further information please contact Richard Price, EAHP Policy and Advocacy Officer

Tel.: +32 (0)2/741.68.35 Email: po@eahp.eu

Notes to Editors:

1. The European Association of Hospital Pharmacists (EAHP) is a working community of national associations of hospital pharmacists. Its membership includes representatives of national hospital pharmacy associations in almost all the European Union (EU) member states, in addition to Switzerland, Norway, Serbia, Turkey, Croatia, the Former Yugoslav Republic Of Macedonia (FYROM) and Bosnia Herzegovina . Membership is increasing each year and, at present, EAHP represents the interest of over 21,000 hospital pharmacists in 31 countries all over Europe. www.eahp.eu

2. The European Society of Oncology Pharmacy (ESOP) is constituted of 31 member countries and has 2,600 members. The Society’s primary aim is to support the optimal treatment for cancer patients. It does this by developing and promoting clinical and oncology pharmacy practice and making information on knowledge and achievements in cancer treatment and activities available to the public. In this area it has, for example, developed the quality standard of oncology service pharmacy (QuapoS). www.esop.eu

3. World Cancer Day is marked on February 4 to raise awareness of cancer and to encourage its prevention, detection, and treatment. It is led by the Union for International Cancer Control, a global consortium of more than 470 cancer-fighting organisations in over 120 countries. www.worldcancerday.org

4. The 17th Annual Congress of the European Association of Hospital Pharmacists will be held in Milan 21-23 March.

More information here http://www.eahp.eu/Congresses/2012-Congress-Milan-Italy

5. The first scientific conference of ESOP, together with the European CanCer Organisation (ECCO), the European Conference of Oncology Pharmacy (ECOP), will be held in Budapest September 27th to 29th 2012.

More information here: http://www.ecco-org.eu/Conferences/Conferences/ECOP-2012/~/media/ECCO%20documents/ECCO%20sections/Congresses%20and%20Conferences/ECOP%202012/LR_110155_ECOP2012_progr_overview_V02.ashx

Source

http://www.eahp.eu/News/Our-News/Press-release-WORLD-CANCER-DAY-2012

European Association of Hospital Pharmacists (EAHP) celebrates 40 years

2012-01-14T12:35:00.000+02:00

European Association of Hospital Pharmacists (EAHP) will be celebrating its 40th Anniversary in 2012.

To mark this occasion, EAHP will be preparing a comprehensive history of the association.

European Association of Hospital Pharmacists is a working community of national associations of hospital pharmacists. Its membership includes representatives of national hospital pharmacy associations in almost all the European Union (EU) member states, in addition to Switzerland, Norway, Serbia, Turkey, Croatia, the Former Yugoslav Republic Of Macedonia (FYROM) and Bosnia Herzegovina .

Membership is increasing each year and, at present, EAHP represents the interest of over 21,000 hospital pharmacists in 31 countries all over Europe.

At a scientific congress in Strasbourg a number of hospital pharmacists from different European countries decided that they should establish a new European association to represent their common interests. Thus in 1969, the seeds of EAHP were sown. On 6 March 1972, the representatives of six European countries signed the first Statutes of the European Association of Hospital Pharmacists, in The Hague, The Netherlands.

The first President of EAHP was Marcel Lebas from France.The first member countries were Belgium, Britain, Denmark, France, the Federal Republic of Germany and The Netherlands. In 1973, Ireland and Spain joined EAHP, soon followed by Norway, Greece, Austria, Sweden and Switzerland. In the 1990s, Italy, Portugal, Hungary, Luxembourg, Finland, Slovakia, Slovenia and the Czech Republic became members. More recently, Bulgaria and Bosnia Herzegovina became members of EAHP. Membership within EAHP is open to countries members of the Council of Europe.On the 1st of August 2011, the EAHP officially became an International Not-for-Profit Organization, and adjusted its policy to better face modern challenges.

Message of the President

40th Anniversary of EAHP: The Past and the Future

Dr. Roberto Frontini, President

Source

EAHP

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-24T09:44:00.002+02:00

+
XXX
XXXXX
XXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXX
"BUON ANNO"
"JOYEUX NOEL"
"VESELE VANOCE"
"MELE KALIKIMAKA"
"NODLAG SONA DHUIT"
"BLWYDDYN NEWYDD DDA"
"GOD JUL"
"FELIZ NATAL"
"BOAS FESTAS"
"FELIZ NAVIDAD"
"MERRY CHRISTMAS"
"ΚΑΛΑ ΧΡΙΣΤΟΥΓΕΝΝΑ"
"KALA CHRISTOUGENA"
"VROLIJK KERSTFEEST"
"FROHLICHE WEIHNACHTEN"
"BUON NATALE-GODT NYTAR"
"HUAN YING SHENG TAN CHIEH"
"WESOLYCH SWIAT-SRETAN BOZIC"
"MOADIM LESIMHA-LINKSMU KALEDU"
"HAUSKAA JOULUA-AID SAID MOUBARK"
"'N PRETTIG KERSTMIS"
"ONNZLLISTA UUTTA VUOTTA"
"Z ROZHDESTYOM KHRYSTOVYM"
"NADOLIG LLAWEN-GOTT NYTTSAR"
"FELIC NADAL-GOJAN KRISTNASKON"
"S NOVYM GODOM-FELIZ ANO NUEVO"
"GLEDILEG JOL-NOELINIZ KUTLU OLSUM"
"EEN GELUKKIG NIEUWJAAR-SRETAN BOSIC"
"KRIHSTLINDJA GEZUAR-KALA CHRISTOUGENA"
"SELAMAT HARI NATAL - LAHNINGU NAJU METU"
"SARBATORI FERICITE-BUON ANNO"
"ZORIONEKO GABON-HRISTOS SE RODI"
"BOLDOG KARACSONNY-VESELE VIANOCE "
"MERRY CHRISTMAS - - HAPPY NEW YEAR"
"ROOMSAID JOULU PUHI -KUNG HO SHENG TEN"
"FELICES PASUAS-EIN GLUCKICHES NEWJAHR"
"PRIECIGUS ZIEMAN SVETKUS SARBATORI VESLLE"
"BONNE ANNEBLWYDDYN NEWYDD DDADRFELIZ NATAL"
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European Medicines Agency (EMA) formalises interaction with healthcare professionals

2011-12-20T08:15:00.000+02:00

The European Medicines Agency has set out its plans to establish regular interaction with a network of European organisations representing doctors, nurses and pharmacists. In the framework for interaction between the European Medicines Agency and healthcare professionals, published today, the Agency describes its plans to:

access the best possible independent expertise in matters related to medicines;
contribute to more efficient and targeted communication to healthcare professionals;
enhance the understanding of the European Union (EU) medicines regulatory network by healthcare professional organisations.

Organisations will need to fulfil a range of criteria in order to be able to be involved in the Agency's activities. These include being representative of healthcare professionals across the EU or European Economic Area (EEA), a specific interest in medicines, and transparency over sources of funding.

The Agency has been interacting with healthcare professionals since it was founded in 1995, but the new framework for interaction aims to make this relationship more structured and complete. As part of its implementation, the Agency will transform its Healthcare Professionals' Working Group (HCPWG), which has been meeting since 2006, into a working party with links to all scientific committees dealing with human medicines.

The framework of interaction and criteria to be fulfilled by healthcare professionals' organisations were endorsed by the Agency's Management Board on 15 December 2011.

Source

Pharmanews.eu

The European Association of Hospital Pharmacists (EAHP) announces new publisher for the European Journal of Hospital Pharmacy

2011-12-10T18:45:00.003+02:00

The European Association of Hospital Pharmacists (EAHP) announces a new partnership with the BMJ Group to publish the peer review journal European Journal of Hospital Pharmacy: Science and Practice (EJHP), launching in January 2012.

The existing journals EJHP Science and EJHP Practice will be combined to make the new journal.

Learn more about this exciting development from the EAHP President and Editor in Chief.

Benefits provided by the new journal include:

· Knowledge – the journal will concentrate on scientific content which will help you in your daily practice and professional content which will develop your career

· In-depth – coverage of all aspects of hospital pharmacy including clinical, therapeutic, economic and social disciplines giving you the full picture

· Ease – all the information that you require will be in one easy to read journal saving you time

EJHP will become more and more an educational tool answering the emerging questions of the pharmacy profession and will also continue to give updated information on professional and political developments.

Find out what the EAHP President’s views are on this new exciting development.

To submit a new paper, become a reviewer or for further information, please visit ejhp.bmj.com.

Source

EAHP

Connectathon 2012 to be held in Bern, Switzerland

2011-10-17T13:26:00.002+03:00

More than 300 IT professionals from 70 companies are expected to attend the Twelfth Annual IHE Conntectathon, to be held next year at the Bern Expo in Bern, Switzerland from May 21 to May 25.

“The decision to bring the Connectathon in Switzerland is a fantastic opportunity for stakeholders to move eHealth activities forward in our country and to continue to make interoperability progress in Europe,” said Christian Hay, user Co-Chair of IHE Suisse.

[See also: Connectathon expands to weeklong program]

The event is an intensive “connectivity marathon” for testing the interoperability of health information systems. Companies implementing IHE Technical Framework Profile specifications in their products will have a chance to test their applications with systems from other vendors.

Connectathon will also offer a full program of workshops and meetings, bringing together stakeholders from European health IT projects. In addition, a major eHealth day conference will be held on May 24.

Results from Connectathon are published on the IHE-Europe website. Vendors are able to refer to the IHE Integration Statements to show compliance of their products with IHE Integration Profiles.

[See also: IHE pharmacy trials a 'step forward' for medication integration ]

Sources

Healthcareitnews.com

http://gazelle.ihe.net/content/ihe-european-connectathon-2012

http://www.ihe.net/

http://www.ihe-europe.net/connectathon/133/cat-2012

The European Journal of Hospital Pharmacy: Science and Practice

2011-09-30T12:03:00.000+03:00

The European Association of Hospital Pharmacists (EAHP) announces a new partnership with the BMJ Group to publish the peer review journal European Journal of Hospital Pharmacy: Science and Practice (EJHP), launching in January 2012.

The existing journals EJHP Science and EJHP Practice will be combined to make the new journal.

Learn more about this exciting development from the EAHP President and Editor in Chief.

Benefits provided by the new journal include:

· Knowledge – the journal will concentrate on scientific content which will help you in your daily practice and professional content which will develop your career

· In-depth – coverage of all aspects of hospital pharmacy including clinical, therapeutic, economic and social disciplines giving you the full picture

· Ease – all the information that you require will be in one easy to read journal saving you time

EJHP will become more and more an educational tool answering the emerging questions of the pharmacy profession and will also continue to give updated information on professional and political developments.

Find out what the EAHP President’s views are on this new exciting development.

To submit a new paper, become a reviewer or for further information, please visit ejhp.bmj.com.

Please note: authors who have submitted papers after 1st September 2011 to EJHP Science or EJHP Practice will need to re-submit to EJHP: Science and Practice using the new Instructions for Authors.

Sources

http://www.eahp.eu/

http://journals.bmj.com/site/marketing/ejhp/index.xhtml

Strategy to Better Protect Public Health by Strengthening and Rationalising EU Pharmacovigilance

2011-09-09T07:47:00.000+03:00

Public consultation on a concept paper on implementing measures for the performance of pharmacovigilance activities

In order to harmonise the performance of the new pharmacovigilance activities introduced by the amended pharmacovigilance legislation (cf. Regulation (EU) No 1235/2010 and Directive 2010/84/EU) the Commission shall adopt several implementing measures. Those measures supplement essential details of the new pharmacovigilance system with the more technical details that have to be observed by marketing authorisation holders, national competent authorities and the European Medicines Agency in the daily practice of applying the new provisions.

With the public consultation the European Commission intends to describe the scope and content of the implementing measure which it is currently considering and seeks views and feedback from stakeholders on those issues. A more detailed description can be found in the concept paper [109 KB] .

The period of consultation ends on 7 November 2011. All citizens and organisations (public and private) are welcome to contribute to this consultation. For more information on how to contribute, please read the concept paper.

Received contributions will be published on the internet. For more information on the processing of personal data in the context of this consultation, read the specific Privacy Statement [16 KB] .

Sources

Public Health

Pharmanews

Who Owns Patient Data?

2011-07-02T09:34:00.000+03:00

If nature has made any one thing less susceptible than all others of exclusive property, it is the action of the thinking power called an idea, which an individual may exclusively possess as long as he keeps it to himself; but the moment it is divulged, it forces itself into the possession of every one, and the receiver cannot dispossess himself of it. Its peculiar character, too, is that no one possesses the less, because every other possesses the whole of it. He who receives an idea from me, receives instruction himself without lessening mine; as he who lights his taper at mine, receives light without darkening me. -- Thomas Jefferson

Topic 3 on the June 20 #HITsm Tweetchat got into discussions of who owns patient data. The moral high ground today seems to be towards "patient ownership." Reality is just a bit different, and I think the discussion of ownership is not all that useful. It should be about rights and responsibilities with respect to patient data, rather than a discussion of ownership. My statement on this is remarkably similar to a post made by Dave Hitz on his blog.

With all due respect to patient advocates who claim ownership of the data, I don't see this enshrined in law, nor do I think "ownership" should be. The challenge to think about are the needs of providers, who collect and organize this data to run their practices. The existence and organization of that data is essential to their practice. Could you imagine the merger, acquisition or other disposition of a healthcare provider practice where the data they used to operate didn't go with the business? Would that benefit patients? Almost certainly not.

What I do see in regulation is the right to obtain the data that a provider has on me (or you). If you think about it, data is something easily shared. After all, it's pretty easy to make copies of information, as Jefferson alludes to in the above quote.

As of now, the HIPAA Privacy regulation gives patients the right to access their information under 45 CFR §164.524 and the right to amend it under 45 CFR §164.526. Providers have the responsibility to make it available and to amend it as appropriate subject to review by the provider (with respect to accuracy, appropriateness and source). There are a lot of caveats here which clearly need to be change. Provisions of this regulation are the cause of Regina Holliday's 73¢ Mural.

HITECH and Meaningful Use change that, but they assert it as a provider responsibility, rather than a patient right. Providers that want to obtain Meaningful Use incentives have to provide patients with an electronic copy of their record within three business days of the request (instead of the 30 allotted by HIPAA) for at least 50% of patients making the request. This is a pretty low bar.

I'm certainly in agreement with the majority that believe patients should have better rights to their data than currently available in law or regulation, but when we talk about ownership, it only confuses the issue.

Keith W. Boone is a Standards Geek for GE Healthcare. He is a member of the HL7 Board, and co-chairs the Patient Care Coordination Planning Committee for Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise. Keith writes regularly on his blog about Healthcare Standards.

Source

June 22, 2011 | Keith W. Boone
http://www.healthcareitnews.com/blog/who-owns-patient-data

Guidelines for Good Pharmaceutical Practice from FIP and WHO

2011-06-26T09:11:00.000+03:00

The International Pharmaceutical Federation first adopted the guidelines for Good Pharmaceutical Practice in 1993. These guidelines were developed as a reference to be used by national pharmaceutical organisations, governments, and international pharmaceutical http://www.fip.org/programmes_projects?page=good_pharmacy_practice to set up nationally accepted standards of Good Pharmacy Practice.

The revised version of this document was endorsed by WHO in 1997 and subsequently approved by the FIP Council in 1997. The GPP Guidelines are based on the pharmaceutical care given by pharmacists. The guidelines recommend for national standards to be set:

The promotion of health;
The supply of medicines, medical devices, patient self-care;
Improving prescribing and medicine use by pharmacists’ activities.

These guidelines have been subsequently adapted and adopted in a wide number of developed countries. In certain cases, the national professional body has strived to adapt the guidelines and developed, in collaboration with the government, specific regulation/legislation on this matter.

Conscious of the need to help developing countries achieve GPP, the FIP Community Pharmacy Section Executive Committee established a working group to produce guidelines in this area in 1992. The paper, entitled “GPP in Developing Countries – Guidelines for Implementation”, was endorsed by the FIP CPS Executive Committee in September 1998.

Having realized the importance of continuing to increase awareness of GPP and stimulating its implementation, the FIP Bureau decided to request the BPP to focus on the theme and to develop a specific activity.

Two countries had been identified as pilot sites for GPP technical assistance to the implementation of these guidelines.

GPP update 2009-2010

The year 2009 was a transition year from the current procedure to the new procedure with regards to preparing FIP Statements of Policy, including the update of the Statement on Good Pharmacy Practice. The FIP Bureau has developed a new process in order to involve FIP's Member Organisations more intensely at an earlier stage of the drafting process by introducing an extra step of producing a reference paper.

As such, on 8 September 2009 at the FIP Congress in Istanbul the Council adopted a new Reference Paper on Good Pharmacy Practice. This paper is being used as the basis for renewal of the Good Pharmacy Practice Statement, a draft of which will be proposed to the Council at the FIP Congress Lisbon 2010.

The Working Group on the Reference Paper on Good Pharmacy Practice consisted of the following members:

Prof. Henri R. Manasse, Jr. Co-chair
Dr Dick F.J. Tromp, Co-chair
Dr Lowell Anderson
Mr Colin R. Hitchings
Ms Eeva Teräsalmi
Mr Raj Vaidya
Ms Jacqueline Surugue
Dr Frans van de Vaart
Ms Marthe Everard

Mr Ton Hoek - ex officio
Prof. Phil J. Schneider - ex officio

Previous Documents:

Guidelines for Pharmacy Practice

Goo d Pharmacy Practice in Developing Countries: Recommendations for step-wise implementation

Developing Pharmacy Practice

In addition to the FIP involvement in Good Pharmacy Practice through these Guidelines, FIP together with WHO has published a joint handbook entitled "Developing pharmacy practice - A focus on patient care".

This handbook sets out a the new paradigm for pharmacy practice. Its aim is to
guide pharmacy educators in pharmacy practice, to educate pharmacy students and to guide pharmacists in practice to update their skills. The handbook, which brings together practical tools and knowledge, has been written in response to a need to define, develop and generate global understanding of pharmaceutical care at all levels.

Click here to download the English version: "Developing pharmacy practice - A focus on patient care"

Click here to download the French version: "Élargir la pratique pharmaceutique - Recentrer les soins sur les patients"

Click here to download the Spanish version: "Desarrollo de la práctica de farmacia - Centrada en la atención del paciente"

Click here to download the Russian version: "Развитие фармацевтической практики: фокус на пациента"

Click here to download the Chinese version: "开展药学实践以患者为中心"

Source

http://www.fip.org/programmes_projects?page=good_pharmacy_practice

eHealth survey shows most hospitals online but telemedicine services not fully deployed

2011-05-17T11:07:00.000+03:00

More than 90% of European hospitals are connected to broadband, 80% have electronic patient record systems, but only 4% of hospitals grant patients online access to their electronic records, according to the results of a survey conducted for the European Commission.

European hospitals are more advanced than US hospitals in terms of external medical exchange, but they lag behind in using eHealth to view laboratory reports or radiology images. The survey provides useful data for the work of the EU eHealth Task Force on assessing the role of information and communications technologies (ICT) in health and social care, which is due to suggest ways for ICT to speed up innovation in healthcare to the benefit of patients, carers and the healthcare sector.

The EU eHealth Task Force met for the first time in Budapest on 10th May (see IP/11/551) on the margins of eHealth week (10-12 May). The deployment of eHealth technologies in Europe, with a view to improving the quality of health care, reducing medical costs and fostering independent living for those needing care, is a key objective of the Digital Agenda for Europe, which for example sets a 2015 deadline for giving patients online access to their medical data (see IP/10/581, MEMO/10/199 and MEMO/10/200).

eHealth applications have a growing role in Europe's hospitals, according to the survey but there are still wide variations in take-up, with Nordic countries taking the lead. Large, public and university hospitals are generally more advanced in eHealth terms than smaller, private ones. The survey data was collected from 906 general public, private or university hospitals. The survey was carried out in 2010 in all 27 EU Member States, plus Croatia, Iceland, and Norway.

Encouraging eHealth deployment in hospitals

The survey shows that in general public, private and university hospitals in Europe are taking advantage of eHealth technologies to a greater or lesser extent:

92% are connected to broadband and 41% of them have broadband speed of at least 50Mbps
81% have one or more electronic patient records systems in place
71% use online eBooking systems for patients' appointments with medical staff
65% have a common patient record system and 61% have an IT-based archiving and communication system
43% exchange radiology reports electronically
39% use videoconferencing (mainly for consultations between internal medical staff and external specialists).

More services required for patients

The survey shows that services for patients, such as ePrescription, telemonitoring or access to patient records are not widely available in all EU hospitals:

54% have WiFi
30% use ePrescription for medicines
only 8% offer patients the opportunity to book their own hospital appointment online
8% telemonitor patients at home
5% have some form of electronic exchange of clinical care information with healthcare providers in other EU countries
only 4% grant patients online access to their electronic patient record.

A first set of benchmarking on the use of ICT by general practitioners was published in 2008 (IP/08/641).

For more information:

The survey's final report and related annexes are available at:

http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/newsroom/cf/item-detail-dae.cfm?item_id=6952

Digital Agenda website:

http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/digital-agenda/index_en.htm

Neelie Kroes' website:

http://ec.europa.eu/commission_2010-2014/kroes/

Website of European Commissioner for Health John Dalli:

http://ec.europa.eu/commission_2010-2014/dalli/index_en.htm

Follow Neelie Kroes on Twitter:

http://twitter.com/neeliekroeseu

Source

Europa

Highlights from the 2011 Connectathon in Pisa

2011-04-17T11:50:00.001+03:00

Connectathon is a five-day ‘connectivity marathon’ for testing the interoperability of health information systems.

The IHE-Europe Connectathon creates a unique opportunity to test health IT applications with systems and products from other vendors in a real-time environment.

For five days in a vast hall that is hard-wired for high speed internet, more than 300 IT engineers come together in a casual but intensely concentrated setting to interconnect more than 100 systems and collaboratively solve problems. According to participants, the cost of identifying and fixing a system bug during a Connectathon is 10 times less expensive and difficult than de-bugging a system once it is installed at a hospital of clinic.

A clear benefit of this week of intensive work are the results for each Connectathon published on the IHE-Europe website. Proof of compliance to IHE Technical Frameworkprovides health IT users an assurance that an application they plan to use is compatible with other IHE-tested systems. More and more hospitals now include a requirement for IHE compliance in their Requests for Proposals to be sure a new application will interoperate with other healthcare systems.

Here are some highlights from the 2011 Connectathon in Pisa, Italy. You can find a Gallery from the Connectathons here.

Sources

http://www.ihe-europe.net/

Informatique Médicale,TIC & Pharmacie

Interested in Hospital Benchmarking across Europe?

2011-03-21T21:30:00.000+02:00

eHealth Week is a collocation of the European Commission's High Level Ministerial Conference and the World of Health IT Conference and Exhibition.

In 2010 it was hailed as Europe's largest pan-European conference: an all encompassing event focusing on leadership and the continuum of care – healthcare from the home to the hospital. The event will also address other related subjects such as Pharma, Regional eHealth Solutions and Active and Healthy Aging Partnerships.

Who

eHealth Week is a platform for all stakeholders in the Health IT community and compliments your national conference, by:

* Offering answers by high-level speakers
* Presenting a modern and wide-ranging exhibition, including an interoperability showcase to demonstrate how data can travel across different suppliers and borders.
* Allowing you to network with government- and industry leaders from across the European continent; an opportunity rarely seen at other European conferences.

When

Tuesday, May 10, 2011: Ministerial Conference (open to all) + side events
Wednesday, May 11, 2011: eHealth Week + side events + exhibition open
Thursday, May 12, 2011: eHealth Week + side events + exhibition open

Source

http://worldofhealthit.org/general/whoWhatWhen.aspx

Call for articles for the first issue of the International Pharmacy Journal 2011

2011-03-01T19:14:00.000+02:00

Dear Colleagues,

The call for articles for the first issue of the International Pharmacy Journal 2011 is now open.

In this issue FIP will be focusing on “Sustainability” - that is, methods and innovations that are allowing the pharmacy profession to be sustainable in a setting and expected future of replacing technologies, professional overlap, growing patient knowledge and empowerment and a changing healthcare scene.

We are asking the articles of the upcoming IPJ to focus on Sustainability in relation to the above mentioned issues in addition to an awareness of global and environmental sustainability and to showcase visionary ideals and proposed practical solutions for current and future challenges.

DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION IS 15th APRIL 2010.

Please direct any and all questions to Myriah Lesko, Editor International Pharmacy Journal at myriah@fip.org.

We thank you in advance for your interest and contributions!

The FIP Publications Team

European Parliament to streamline prescription drug supply

2011-02-23T18:50:00.000+02:00

The European Parliament has approved measures which should help streamline orders and supply of prescription drugs to pharmacies.

The plans, which will see changes to medicine packaging, will go some way towards cracking down on counterfeit drugs.

As part of the move, drug packets could be given electronic serialisation numbers, which would allow pharmacies to check the drug's authenticity.

The plans, rubber-stamped by MEPs this week, will also widen European regulation over online medicine sales. Plans are in place to give European internet pharmacies a common, recognisable logo.

The National Pharmacy Association (NPA) has called for the changes to be brought into force "in an efficient and non-bureaucratic way."

Raj Patel, NPA board member and head of the UK delegation to the Pharmaceutical Group of the European Union (PGEU), added: "This is one of the most significant European directives for community pharmacy that we have ever seen and its impact will be felt by pharmacists working across the EU."

Source

http://www.hospitalpharmacyeurope.com/default.asp?page=article.display&article.id=24454

Patients' Rights in Cross-Border Healthcare

2011-02-01T08:50:00.001+02:00

An elderly German man with diabetes brings extra prescriptions with him on a trip to Italy but will the pharmacist accept the prescription? A Polish woman would like to receive hip surgery in the country where her grandchildren live and work but how can she organise this from Poland? A Portuguese man seeks cataract surgery from a specialist in Spain but will he be reimbursed? These are just a couple of cases where a patient may need clarity on rights and rules for cross-border healthcare.

A newly adopted EU law clarifies patients' rights to access safe and good quality treatment across EU borders, and be reimbursed for it. Patients travelling to another EU country for medical care will enjoy equal treatment with the citizens of the country in which they are treated. This new law will benefit EU patients in several other ways. It will make it easier for national health authorities to work closer together and exchange information on quality and safety standards of healthcare. It will help patients who need specialised treatment, for example those who are seeking diagnosis or treatment for a rare disease. It supports the development of "European Reference Networks" bringing together, on a voluntary basis, specialised centres of expertise already recognised in Europe. Health experts across Europe will be able to share best practices on healthcare and provide standards of excellence.

What scale are we talking about?

Patients prefer to receive healthcare in their own country. That is why the demand for cross-border healthcare represents only around 1% of public spending on healthcare, which is currently around €10 billion. This estimate includes cross-border healthcare which patients had not planned in advance (such as emergency care). This means less than 1% of the expenditure and movement of patients is for planned cross-border healthcare, like hip and knee operations or cataract surgery.

What about the existing legislation in this area (Regulations on social security)?

Citizens needing care (including emergency care) when temporarily abroad will continue to benefit from the existing Regulations scheme and be provided with the care they need.

For planned care, a patient can already apply for prior authorisation. This cannot be refused if he/she cannot be treated within a time limit which is medically justifiable.

Why do we need this new legislation then?

This Directive will not affect the benefits already offered to citizens through existing Regulations on social security. Although the existing rules – which focus on social security agreements, not on patients' rights - have been in place since 1971, clarification was still needed on the rights of EU citizens to receive healthcare in another Member State.

In the case of hospital care, one of the main achievements of this new Directive is that patients will be able to choose their healthcare provider.

For non-hospital care, patients will be able to seek healthcare abroad without prior authorisation or formalities, and claim reimbursement upon their return home. This Directive covers not only public, but also private providers.

For both hospital and non-hospital care, patients will have access to information on the quality and safety of the care they will receive.

This Directive also seeks to address other practical questions: where can I find information on quality standards applied by the hospital? How much will I be reimbursed? The European Court of Justice has confirmed^¹ that the right to seek cross-border healthcare already exists in the Treaty. However, this newly adopted Directive sets this out clearly in EU law and provides a uniform and coherent framework for all citizens in Europe.

Do I need authorisation from my national authority before going abroad for treatment?

National authorities can introduce a system of "prior authorisation" in 3 cases:

1) For healthcare which involves overnight hospital stay of at least one night;

2) for highly specialised and cost-intensive healthcare;

3) in serious and specific cases relating to the quality or safety the care provided abroad. In these 3 cases, patients may need to ask for permission in advance from their national health authority in charge of reimbursement.

Can this authorisation be refused?

National health authorities can refuse authorisation if the treatment in question, or the healthcare provider in question, could present a risk for the patient. Also, if appropriate healthcare can be provided at home in good time, authorisation can be refused but Member States will need to explain why such a decision is necessary.

What if I am refused authorisation?

Patients have the right to request a review of any administrative decision on cross-border healthcare for their individual case.

How much will I be reimbursed after receiving a treatment abroad?

Patients will be reimbursed the same amount as they would receive in their own country for the same type of healthcare. Member States where care is free of charge will need to inform patients about their reimbursement tariffs.

1 Kohll and Decker (1998); Ferlini (2000); Geraets-Smits and Peerbooms (2001); Vanbraekel (2001); Inizan (2003); Müller Fauré and Van Riet (2003); Leichtle (2004); Watts (2006); Stamatelaki (2007); Elchinov (2010).

Source

Europa

Rare Disease Day 2011: Focus health inequalities

2011-01-04T21:55:00.000+02:00

28th February 2011 marks the 4th International Rare Disease Day coordinated by EURORDIS and rare disease national alliances in 25 countries.

Rare Disease Day is intended to increase awareness of rare diseases amongst the general public, European, national and local health authorities and policy makers, health professionals, researchers, academics, the pharmaceutical and biotech industries, as well as the media.

Hundreds of patient groups and their partners, coordinated by national alliances at the country level, will organise a multitude of events to draw attention to rare diseases and the millions of people who are affected by them. Awareness-raising activities are planned across Europe, all the way to Russia, Georgia and Armenia, as well as in the US, Canada and as far as Australia, New Zealand, China and Japan!

This year, EURORDIS member national alliances in 25 countries will combine their efforts to put the spotlight on 'rare diseases and health inequalities' and converge around the slogan “Rare but Equal”.

More specifically, in 2011, Rare Disease Day will seek to draw attention to the:

* Gaps in health that exist for rare disease patients between and within countries in the EU;
* Gaps in health that exist for rare disease patients compared with other segments of society.

The campaign will serve to advocate for:

* Equal access for rare disease patients to health care and social services;
* Equal access to basic social rights: health, education, employment, housing;
* Equal access to orphan drugs and treatments.

Patients, caregivers, social workers and doctors who have a story they would like to share are encouraged to contact the Rare Disease Day organisers at rarediseasedaystories2011@eurordis.org.

EURORDIS’ Council of National Alliances will meet in a week’s time to coordinate and plan the last details of this important event. If you would like to organise an awareness-raising activity you can still do so by contacting your national alliance or country organiser. To obtain their contact details go to www.rarediseaseday.org/national_alliance

If you are not a patient organisation or cannot see your country in the country page of the website, and would like to organise an activity or simply help relay the message to others, you can sign up as Friend of Rare Disease Day and add your name to a growing list of sympathisers on the website.

You can also join the more than 10,000 fans who have already signed up to Rare Disease Day Facebook, and send your video or photo (with commentary in your own language) to the RDD Flickr site and YouTube channel especially created for this day.

As you can see there are plenty of ways to get involved! Let’s combine our efforts to give hope to rare disease patients all over the world!

If you would like to find out more about this year’s campaign, go to www.rarediseaseday.org.

Source

http://www.eurordis.org/

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-25T08:23:00.000+02:00

We wish you Merry Christmas ...

and all the happiness you could wish for..!

European Strategy for Chronic Conditions – Second Workshop

2010-11-28T10:50:00.000+02:00

Average health expenditure in the EU Member States is forecast to nearly double to 16% of GDP by 2020 due, in large part, to the costs of dealing with the impact of chronic conditions. Despite being largely preventable, chronic conditions are the cause of 86% of premature deaths in the WHO European Region and have significant economic implications.

Chronic conditions are not just a health issue – they impact on the workplace, the home environment, social support services and family networks – yet governments for the most part have been slow to integrate policies, inter-departmental budgets and service provision to suit the needs of patients and providers and facilitate the input of community and private expertise.

EPPOSI’s first workshop in 2008 identified the clear need for a Europe-wide strategy to ensure open, equal access to care and treatment for patients with chronic conditions, which is patient-centred and must recognise the often ignored role of carers. Now the challenge is how to turn that into reality.

Even without the ongoing effects of the financial crisis an inexorable rise in expenditure is unsustainable, so how can policy-makers, patients, healthcare providers and insurers, the pharmaceutical industry, social services and employers better work together to reduce the risks of chronic conditions, improve quality of life and confront the economic implications? Complex challenges call for innovative responses: EPPOSI invites all stakeholders to its Second Workshop on Chronic Conditions to help formulate the principal elements of a holistic new model which can actively reduce the debilitating personal and economic burden of chronic conditions. The model will be developed by a Task Force, to be set up after the workshop and based on its outcomes, which can be adapted and implemented in all Member States.

Chronic Conditions - Pre-confrence paper

Chronic Conditions - Draft Programme

Sources

http://www.epposi.org/web/Home/Home.aspx

http://www.pharmanews.eu/conferences-and-events/688-a-european-strategy-for-chronic-conditions

The European Single Market –what’s in it for Hospital Pharmacists?

2010-11-19T16:58:00.001+02:00

The European Commission has launched a public debate on a package of about 50 measures to revamp the Europe’s single market and stimulate economic growth and emploment.

The new “Single European Act” includes proposals to review EU rules in areas such as public procurement and mutual recognition of professional qualifications (MRPQ) which have direct implications for pharmacists.

For example, for pharmacists working in public hospitals and involved in the procurement of medicines, the review EU public procurement rules provides an opportunity to reflect on their experience in applying the rules and to make suggestions on how the process could be improved. The review of the MRPQ Directive offers an opportunity to reflect on the changing role of pharmacists and to consider whether the basic requirements for the recognition of professional qualifications are still up to date.

Although more in depth public consultations will be launched on any specific legislative proposals that go forward, the current debate is an opportunity to give some initial views on issues which are important for pharmacists. EAHP encourages you to share your views with us on the Single Market Act so that we can take a coordinated approach as European hospital pharmacists.

More information about the Single European Act along with an online submission form to contribute your views to the debate is available on the European Commission’s website.

The deadline for submitting views to the Commission is 28 February 2011.

Source

EAHP EU Monitor

ECDC publishes data on hepatitis B and C surveillance and prevention in Europe

2010-10-28T17:46:00.000+03:00

ECDC releases today two new reports on hepatitis B and C entitled ‘Surveillance and prevention of hepatitis B and C in Europe’ and ‘Hepatitis B and C in the EU neighbourhood: prevalence, burden of disease and screening policies’.

Hepatitis surveillance is implemented in all Member States but varies considerably across countries. Universal vaccination programmes for HBV are implemented in 22 countries and seven countries have established targeted vaccination programmes.

The majority of the countries have implemented screenings for HBV in pregnant women; only four countries do not have such a programme. Half of the countries conduct screening programmes for hepatitis C, primarily for injecting drug users and prison inmates. Prevalence data on HBV and HCV remain scarce in many countries, both for the general population and groups-at-risk.

The release of the reports coincides with a summit conference on hepatitis B and C, which will take place from 14 to 15 October in Brussels, Belgium.

The conference will bring together major stakeholders to analyse new and existing information and enable European policy makers and other stakeholders to formulate public policies in response to the epidemic of viral hepatitis in Europe.

Download the report on Surveillance and prevention of hepatitis B and C in Europe

Download the report on hepatitis B and C in the EU neighbourhood: prevalence, burden of disease and screening policies

Read the info sheet on hepatitis B and C: current situation in EU/EEA

Source

ECDC

European Commission Publishes Eurobarometer on Mental Health

2010-10-11T18:57:00.003+03:00

A poll released to mark World Mental Health Day reveals that during the 12 months preceding the survey, 15% of respondents across EU Member States sought professional help for psychological or emotional problems and 7% took antidepressants, mostly for depression or anxiety.

This Eurobarometer survey on the self perceived Mental Health of European citizens was conducted during February and March 2010 in the 27 Member States of the European Union.

According to the results, there is still stigma attached to mental disorders, with 22% of those surveyed saying they would find it difficult to speak to a person with a "significant mental disorder". This issue and the other results will be discussed during the next thematic conference under the:

European Pact for Mental Health and Well-being : "Promoting Social Inclusion and Combating Stigma for better Mental Health and Well-being",

taking place in Lisbon on 8-9 November

Link to the Eurobarometer report: http://ec.europa.eu/health/mental_health/eurobarometers/index_en.htm

Source

http://ec.europa.eu/health/mental_health/eurobarometers/index_en.htm

16th Congress of the European Association of Hospital Pharmacists: online abstract submission is now open

2010-09-07T21:22:00.004+03:00

16th Congress of the European Association of Hospital Pharmacists, 30 March - 1 April 2011, Vienna, Austria.

"Hospital Pharmacists in a changing world - opportunities and challenges".

EAHP's online abstract submission is now open.

You can visit the EAHP congress web site at www.eahp.eu to view the new guidelines for abstract/poster submissions.

There have been changes made and the new guidelines will be used during the review process.

The deadline to submit your abstract is 15 October 2010.

Also note that new to EAHP will be including your posters on the EAHP web site following the congress.

Sources

http://www.eahp.eu/

http://www.eahp.eu/Congresses/2011-Congress-Vienna-Austria

http://www.eahp.eu/Congresses/Abstract-information

European Medicines Agency launches new website

2010-07-19T09:47:00.003+03:00

The European Medicines Agency today unveiled its new corporate website at http://www.ema.europa.eu/. The site has been completely redesigned and rebuilt to optimize usability for the Agency's key online audiences and build on existing activities to improve openness and transparency.

The Agency website now receives an average of half a million unique visits per month and is a key resource for patients, healthcare professionals, regulators and those interested in the regulation and safety of medicines in the European Union.

Some of the website’s new features include:

* Quick medicine searches: Allows you to search for human and veterinary medicines by name and active substance and for herbal medicinal substances by name
* An online library: Enables you to search for all Agency documents currently online through a search on title and date published online.
* Improved navigation: More intuitive labelling and improved organisation of content so that browsing is quicker for all audience groups
* Audience landing pages: Flags information of specific value to different key users
* Online calendar and news search: Allows you to keep up to date with the latest news and events at the Agency
* RSS feeds: Brings information straight to you as soon as it is published online.

Through 2010 and 2011 the Agency will continue to work on improving the website by increasing the use of multimedia and improving search functionalities.

Source

http://www.ema.europa.eu/

WEBICINA: the new, free aggregator of quality medical information

2010-06-24T22:13:00.002+03:00

WEBICINA, PeRSSonalized Medicine is a free, easy-to-use aggregator of quality medical information that lets you

select your favourite resources,
read the latest news,
get informed from the newest articles

about a medical specialty or a medical condition in one personalized place.

Webicina contains only quality resources in the databases.

Source

http://www.webicina.com/perssonalized/?page=2&cat=0

Pictogram Project by MEPS

2010-06-07T19:15:00.002+03:00

This project has been undertaken by MEPS to give health professionals a means of communicating medication instructions to people that they have no language in common with and / or who may be illiterate. MEPS members provide emergency relief and humanitarian aid relief where such a means of communication may well be required.

To download the latest version of the Pictogram (under a zip file), please click one of the following links:

Download Pictograms program NA [8Mb] (last update: June 2009)
(This is the North American version, which prints on Letter size paper)

Download Pictograms program EU [8Mb] (last update: June 2009)
(This is the European version, which prints on A4 size paper)

If you don't have Microsoft Access on your computer, you will also have to download Access Runtime (free download) on Microsoft website: click here

Click here to download the instructions of use

Source

http://www.fip.nl/www/index.php?page=pp_sect_maepsm_pictogram

EAHP survey on status of hospital pharmacy specialisation in the Europe

2010-05-12T21:12:00.005+03:00

Preliminary results

European Association of Hospital Pharmacists (EAHP) surveyed its members at the beginning of the year 2010, on the status of the specialization in hospital pharmacy in their country.

Out of the 27 questions asked, the most important were:

* Is there a hospital pharmacists’ specialization exactly called “Specialization in hospital pharmacy” or such a specialization under a different name?

* Are there other specialist qualifications suitable for hospital pharmacists?

* When there is a specialist qualification for hospital pharmacists, is it compulsory for all pharmacists working in hospital pharmacy?

* What advantage is there to a pharmacist obtaining a specialist qualification when it is not mandatory?

* Which bodies are responsible for specialist qualifications for hospital pharmacists and which run the courses?

* What is the role of the national Hospital Pharmacists’ Association in the whole process of the specialization in hospital pharmacy? and
* Please provide a detailed curriculum(s) of your specialist course(s).

Preliminary results show that specialized hospital pharmacy care is provided in 12 EU Member States serving 72% of the total population of the EU.

The countries with the highest percentage of pharmacists with a specialization in hospital pharmacy out of the total number of hospital pharmacists are:

Belgium (100%),
the Netherlands (90%),
Spain (95%),
France (93%),
Italy and Czech Republic (60%),
Hungary and Switzerland (50%) and
Austria (49%).

The minimum time to undertake the specialization in hospital pharmacy varies from 1 year (Belgium), 2 years (Turkey), 3 years (5 countries: Austria, Croatia, Hungary, Ireland, Switzerland), 4 years (4 countries: Czech Republic, France, Netherlands, Spain) to 5 years (Italy and Portugal).

EAHP will soon publish the results; watch the link in for more information.

Source

http://www.eahp.eu/News/Our-News/EAHP-survey-on-status-of-hospital-pharmacy-specialisation-in-the-Europe

ICT 2010 conference Europe's most visible forum for ICT research and innovation

2010-04-26T18:56:00.004+03:00

The ICT 2010 conference will take place in Brussels on 27-29 September 2010.

ICT 2010 is organised by the European Commission and hosted by the Belgian Presidency of the European Union. Around 4.500 participants are expected to attend this event.

This biennial event has become a unique gathering point for researchers, business people, investors, and high level policy makers in the field of digital innovation. ICT 2010 will focus on policy priorities such as Europe's Digital Agenda and the next financial programme of the European Union for funding research and innovation in ICT.

At ICT 2010:

* latest research trends in information and communication technologies
* European priorities for 2.8 billion Euros research funding in ICT, 2011-2012
* Meet potential research and business partners at dozens of networking sessions
* an exhibition with over 5000 square meters of Europe's latest cutting edge ICT research

Key themes for the 2010 conference:

* the potential of digital solutions to promote sustainable growth in a low carbon economy

* The continuing constructive role of ICT in the daily life of citizens

* the importance of public participation in the innovation process.

The conference will include special sessions presenting the European Union's funding priorities for the 2.8 Billion Euros of EU funding available for ICT research and development during 2011-2012.

These themes will be discussed and debated by leading figures from business, academia and politics.

For more info, please see the sources below!

Sources

http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/events/ict/2010/index_en.htm

http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/index_en.htm

French and European workshop during 10th Connectathon, Bordeaux 13-14 April 2010

2010-03-23T09:09:00.004+02:00

For a quality care pathway to be delivered to patients, co-operation between healthcare professionals needs to be underpinned by the ability to access medical data held within shared records. IHE (Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise) provides integration solutions which make the exchange and sharing of healthcare data possible, Today more than 200 Healthcare vendors are using IHE integration profiles, and test their products in Connectathons.

IHE has achieved a broad consensus on issues ranging from requirements analysis to technical specification, thanks to the collaboration it fosters between users and software companies, across a broad spectrum including hospitals, national and regional healthcare organisations tasked with implementing shared record systems and a range of software solution providers – SME’s as well as large companies.

The objective of the workshops we will be running is to showcase IHE’s contribution to integration, and will draw on the practical implementation experience of hospitals, regions or across national deployments.

Workshop : Wednesday April 14, 2010 The challenges of Interoperability Deploying IHE solutions

Detailed program and registration

Sources

http://www.connectathon2010.org/connectathon-2010-bordeaux-france

http://www.connectathon2010.org/european-workshop

http://www.connectathon2010.org/formulaire-de-pre-inscription-registration-form

Discover the European emergency number - 112

2010-03-10T17:33:00.004+02:00

Imagine you are visiting an EU country or at home and you need to contact an ambulance, the fire brigade or the police. Would you know which emergency number to call?

As Europeans are increasingly travelling for business or leisure, millions of people could be faced with this problem. Fortunately, there is no need to look up and remember the emergency numbers for each EU country you are visiting. Just remember 112!

112 is the European emergency number, reachable from fixed and mobile phones, free of charge, everywhere in the EU.

Source

http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/activities/112/index_en.htm

The socio-economic impact of interoperable electronic health record (EHR) and ePrescribing systems in Europe and beyond

2010-01-25T19:00:00.002+02:00

Interoperable electronic health record (EHR) and ePrescribing systems are already high on the political agenda in Europe and beyond.

The goal of the EHR IMPACT study is to support ongoing initiatives and implementation work by the European Commission, Member States governments, private investors, and other actors. The study aims to improve awareness of the benefits and provide new empirical evidence on the socio-economic impact and lessons learnt from successfully implemented systems.

In pursuit of these goals, the study focuses on:

* Defining a conceptual framework and analysing differences in emphasis and functionalities of various kinds of EHR and ePrescribing systems, as well as levels and degrees of interoperability;

* Developing further the state-of-the-art socio-economic impact evaluation methodologies and applying these to interoperable EHR and ePrescribing systems;

* Identifying cases of good practice in terms of overall performance and particularly in economic terms, of implemented, interoperable EHR and ePrescribing systems;

* Evaluating the economic impact of ten implemented solutions from across the healthcare value system, as well as across the EU Member States;

* Presenting and disseminating the gained empirical knowledge to the wider public, to address the need to improve awareness of the benefits of interoperable EHR and ePrescribing systems.

The EHR IMPACT study is commissioned by DG INFSO and Media, unit ICT for Health.

Download The Socio-Economic Impact of Interoperable Electronic Health Record (EHR) and ePrescribing Systems in Europe and Beyond - Final Report

Sources

http://www.ehr-impact.eu/index.htm

http://www.ehealthnews.eu

Connectathon goes to France

2010-01-04T19:12:00.003+02:00

The Tenth Annual European interoperability testing event, known as the IHE Connectathon, will be held in Bordeaux, France from April 12th to 16th, 2010 at the Cité Mondiale, a conference center located in the heart of the city on the banks of the Garonne river.

More than 300 information technology engineers from 90 companies are expected for this year's event, an intensive, five-day 'connectivity marathon' for testing the interoperability of applications used in health information systems.

In parallel with these testing activities, Connectathon 2010 will offer two full-day conference programs, one focused on the progress towards interoperability in European health IT programs and one focused on developments in France.

At the IHE Connectathon all companies implementing IHE Technical Framework specifications in their products have a unique opportunity to test their applications with systems and products from other vendors in a real-time interoperability environment.

According to vendors who have participated in previous Connectathons, "the cost of identifying and solving a bug during a Connectathon is about 10 times less than the cost of a bug identified on site."

The results of the Connectathon will be published on the IHE-Europe website and application vendors may refer to the IHE Integration Statements to show compliance of their product with IHE Integration Profiles. This is a clear benefit to vendors when responding to Requests for Proposals from users.

For more information on IHE-Europe please visit: www.ihe-europe.net. Also available on the IHE-Europe website are Success Stories about IHE implementations in Europe, as well as FAQs about Connectathon and IHE frameworks and specifications.

Sources

http://www.ehealthnews.eu/events/1832-connectathon-goes-to-france

http://www.ihe-europe.net/content/connectathon_2010.htm

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-25T18:14:00.004+02:00

We wish you Merry Christmas ...

and all the happiness you could wish for..!

EuroPharm Forum Observatory, knowledge and search facility for pharmacy practice

2009-12-16T22:26:00.000+02:00

The purpose of the EuroPharm Forum Observatory is to collect and display information in order to develop pharmacy practice. Hopefully, knowlegde of the EuroPharm Forum Observatory and its contents will spread worldwide, and people with an interest in pharmacy practice will use and contribute to the information on the Observatory.

The Observatory can be used in many ways. A hint is to use the SEARCH facility in the upper right corner. This searches all contents in the entire Observatory and will quickly guide you to the right pages. Another way is to enter via the elements below. Each element has it's own purpose and structure.

	Discussions on pharmacy practice Create your own discussions on topics of interest, and invite others to contribute		Pharmacy Practice Documents Find and provide links to documents of importance to pharmacy practice

	EuroPharm Forum Practice Domains Follow and contribute to discussions within professional practice domains		Evidence-based Pharmacy Practice See the evidence for pharmacy practice, and contribute with your own evidence

	Pharmacy Practice Events Find information on conferences, seminars, meetings, etc., and list your own

The EuroPharm Forum Observatory is organised as a wiki. Anyone with an interest in the development of pharmacy practice may use and contribute to the site. In order to contribute and add comments, you must be a registered user. Activate RSS feeds to receive automatic alerts of changes to the Observatory.

The Observatory is owned and maintained by the EuroPharm Forum in collaboration with the WHO Collaboration Centre for Drug Policy and Pharmacy Practice Development, Pharmakon, in Hillerød near Copenhagen, Denmark.

Source

http://europharm.pbworks.com/

SanAntonioPHARMA project by the European Fellowship for pharmacists

2009-11-25T19:37:00.004+02:00

The <News> section of the EAHP website (European Association of Hospital Pharmacists) informs the Hospital Pharmacists that in the past two years, the European Fellowship for Pharmacists (EFP) has covered the meetings of the American Society for Clinical Oncology (ASCO) in 2008 and 2009. We are now expanding our project to the 2009 Breast Cancer Symposium in San Antonio as well as the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), to be held June of 2010.

Please sign up for this FREE educational report through the EFP.

Currently, the website is in French but the pdf will be delivered to you in ENGLISH one month after the symposium. Please follow the directions below to sign up for this educational report.

Go to: www.efp-online.org

* Scroll the right page to the “red flashing” light
* Click on “San Antonio Pharma 2009”
* Enter: Last Name, First Name, Email
* Set your language to “English”

You will receive the report in ENGLISH approximately one month after the meeting.

Feel free to spread this information to your contacts so that as many colleagues may benefit from this unique report of an important medical conference, BY pharmacists, and FOR pharmacists !

Sources

http://www.eahp.eu
http://www.eahp.eu/News/SanAntonioPHARMA-project-by-the-European-Fellowship-for-pharmacists
http://www.efp-online.org/
http://www.asco.org/

New website for health promotion videos launched

2009-10-09T19:15:00.004+03:00

The European Commission launches a website for health promotion videos produced in Europe. The aim is to share ideas and best practice and to show what has been done in public health campaigns on issues such as addiction prevention, communicable diseases, cancer or nutrition and physical activity.

You can access the new website from here:
http://www.healthclips.eu/

From the website, you can order a copy of a video to use it for non-commercial information purposes.

Sources

http://ec.europa.eu/health-eu/

http://ec.europa.eu/health-eu/videos/index_en.htm

Information on the benefits of immunization against diseases

2009-09-12T13:32:00.002+03:00

Infectious diseases threaten the health of the citizens of the European Union. The responsibility for preventing the transmission of emerging pathogens and the resurgence of others, as well as enhancing the rapid and coordinated response capability to these threats, is therefore shared by national health authorities and the European Institutions.

Vaccination is unquestionably one of the most cost-effective public health measures available to protect citizens against infectious diseases. The wide-spread implementation of vaccination has led to the eradication of smallpox and has made Europe polio-free. All EU Member States have organised immunisation programmes to protect their citizens against serious, sometimes life-threatening diseases. Yet, some vaccines remain undervalued and under-utilised.

Therefore, the EU works together with the Member States to strengthen the advocacy on the benefits of immunisation against diseases where safe and effective vaccines are available. More specifically, the EU supports the Member States in areas such as immunisation of children against priority vaccine preventable diseases (for example measles, mumps, rubella, diphtheria, tetanus, polio, Haemophilus influenzae b, hepatitis B), immunisation against the human papilloma virus and immunisation against seasonal flu.

Links to the EU activities

Public health

Surveillance of vaccine-preventable infectious diseases
EUVAC.NET – Surveillance network for vaccine-preventable infectious diseases using epidemiological and laboratory surveillance and managerial methods

VENICE project
The Venice project aims to encourage collection and dissemination of knowledge and best practice relating to vaccination and to further develop collaboration and partnership between Member States

Disease prevention
Information on the work of the ECDC to reinforce Europe's defences against infectious diseases by pooling European health knowledge and fostering cooperation

Vaccines against human papilloma virus (HPV)
In combination with an organised population-wide quality assured cervical cancer screening programme, vaccination against HPV can help to further reduce the incidence and mortality of cervical cancer. Information on cooperation at EU level against cervical cancer.

EC Health Indicators

Vaccination coverage in children
Data on the percentage of infants fully vaccinated against against major diseases

European Health Information

Childhood vaccinations
Data on childhood vaccinations

Research

Vaccines for poverty-related diseases
EU research to develop new drugs and vaccines for HIV, malaria and tubercolosis

Improving the health of the poor
EU policy for developing integrated programmes and cooperation to tackle poverty-related diseases

European and developing countries - clinical trials partnership
EU initiatives to develop new medical products to fight HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis in poor countries

Sources

http://ec.europa.eu/health-eu/index_en.htm

http://ec.europa.eu/health-eu/care_for_me/vaccinations/index_en.htm

3rd Master Class in Oncology Pharmacy Practise

2009-08-23T08:35:00.003+03:00

The European Society of Oncology Pharmacy (ESOP) and the Panhellenic Society of Hospital Pharmacists are offering the 3rd Master Class in Oncology Pharmacy. The event will be held in the NJV Plaza hotel, in Athens, Greece, on 23-26 November 2009.

The meeting is the next in a line of successful past events, offering fundamental knowledge to pharmacists in the field of oncology, both for their pharmacy preparatory work and for providing adequate care and support to cancer patients.

This year’s Master Class will focus on the following issues:

Monday

• Europe, the Balkans and the future in oncology
• The need for quality standards in oncology pharmacy
• Pharmacist involvement from prescription to administration (Workshop)
• Production procedure & GMP/ Cytotoxic drug deliveries-precautions/ Data management/ Aseptic work/ Documentation/ Delivery of cytotoxic drug preparation/ Validation of procedures and internal inspections
• How to establish and run a cytotoxic preparation service: The experience of different European countries
• Contamination by cytotoxic drugs, adverse effects and associated occupational health risks

Tuesday

• Facilities: rooms, equipment, ventilation, safety cabins. Personal protective equipment: gown, gloves, pumps, etc.
• Devices and safety in use
• Safety Cabinet, isolators, use of devices (Workshop)
• Cytotoxic drug stability
• Demand for ED programmes for preparation and documentation in oncology pharmacy
• Quiz

Wednesday

• Cytotoxic drugs: mechanism of action and their use in clinical pharmacology
• Supportive treatment: pain therapy, nausea-vomiting, fatigue, alopecia, mucositis, diarrhea
(Workshop)
• Clinical protocols
• Pharmacovigilance
• Psychological support for the patient
• How can pharmacists manage their feelings of depression?
• Cancer patient management. From diagnosis to therapy (Imaging, pathology, molecular biology, PET scan, mammography, evaluation of results, therapeutic decisions)
• Patient follow-up
• Cancer prevention in the European Union: strategy and actions

Thursday

• Stability of prepared doses, microbiological risk
• Medication errors
• Emergency in clinical oncology: The medical, pediatric and radiotherapy perspective in oncology and antidotes
• With whom and how do I collaborate in clinical service? (Workshop)
• Quiz

For a detailed timetable of the Master Class, please visit the ESOP website.

Course Details

Official language
The official language of the meeting is English.

Organizer

European Society of Oncology Pharmacy (ESOP)
Panhellenic Society of Hospital Pharmacists (PSHP)
Mindwork Business Solutions
ConEvent GmbH

Number of participants

The maximum number of delegates is 40. Registrations will be handled on a “first come, first served” basis, therefore please make sure you register as early as possible.

Certificate of attendance

Participants will be awarded a certificate of attendance, following appropriate evaluation of
the knowledge acquired during the Course they attend.

Registration

The registration fee is €250 for ESOP members and €300 for non-members. This fee covers your participation in the meeting and social events. Travel and accommodation expenses shall be covered by participants. Registration applications should be directed to Ms. Foteini Papagioti at papagioti.foteini@mind-work.gr , no later than Friday, 20 November 2009, preferably with confirmation of payment of the registration fee. After 20 November, you may only register on-site, at the Secretariat operating in the Master Class venue. If you have preregistered, please make sure you bring your registration confirmation with you, so that you can collect your meeting material.

All payments should be directed to:
MINDWORK BUSINESS SOLUTIONS
Bank Account: 342.00.2320002899
Bank Name: Alpha Bank
IBAN: GR4501403420342002320002899

Attendance

Attendance of all classes and sessions is mandatory for participants. Please note that the
meeting Secretariat will provide you with an electronic badge, which you must scan upon
entering and leaving the classroom.

Travel Arrangements

Please note that all travel arrangements shall be made and covered by participants
themselves. The registration fee does not include travel expenses.

Event Organizer

Mindwork Business Solutions
15, Markou Mpotsari str.
Kifissia, 145 61
Athens, Greece
Tel: +30 210 6231305
Fax: +30 210 6233809
Contact Person: Ms. Foteini Papagioti
papagioti.foteini@mind-work.gr

Source

http://www.esop.li/futureevents.php

A Hospital Pharmacist is elected Co-Chair for Users to IHE-Europe

2009-07-06T13:37:00.006+03:00

A hospital pharmacist who played a key role in the creation of the Pharmacy domain for Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise (IHE), Jacqueline Surugue was elected the Co Chair for Users of IHE Europe Steering Committee in June. www.ihe-europe.net

Since 2007, Jacqueline Surugue has served on the Steering Committee of IHE, representing the European Association of Hospital Pharmacists (EAHP).

Completing her term as President of EAHP in June, Jacqueline Surugue takes up her duties as IHE-Europe co-chair, saying, “I will bring my enthusiasm to collaborate with co Chairs and members and my support in establishing IHE Europe as a recognized stakeholder on the European level and a strong partner within IHE international with the aim of a coherent interoperability of health information systems”.

IHE-Europe is represented by an executive board with Co-Chairs and two past Co-Chairs of the European IHE Committee, two representing the vendors, two representing the users of IT systems in health care.

As Co-Chair for Users, Jacqueline Surugue joins Peter Kuenecke, the elected Co-Chair for Vendors, in jointly-directing the activities and operations of the not-for profit organization IHE-Europe aisbl.

Hospitals, health authorities and medical societies participate in the activities of IHE-Europe which is also supported by many sponsoring organisations and companies. The organization was initiated jointly by the European Association of Radiology (EAR) and the European Coordination Committee of the Radiological, Electromedical and Medical IT Industries (COCIR).

Jacqueline Surugue is chief of the Pharmacy Department for the 1,200-bed Centre Hospitalier Georges Renon (Niort) in the Poitou Charentes region of France. She has a broad experience on European level in her role as the president of the European Association of Hospital Pharmacists, a federation of 29 countries from Europe representing 22,000 hospital pharmacists.

She was elected vice president of the Federation Internationale Pharmaceutique (FIP) Hospital Section in 2006 and is an elected member of the National Council of the French Order of Pharmacists.

Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise (IHE) International is an organization that enables users and developers of information technology for healthcare to achieve interoperability of systems through the precise definition of healthcare tasks, the specification of standards-based communication between systems required to support those tasks and the testing of systems to determine that they conform to the specifications. The work is managed by IHE committees and sponsored by various national and international bodies, as described in the IHE Principles of Governance, available at www.ihe.net/governance/.

Sources

http://www.ihe-europe.net/

http://www.ihe-europe.net/content/new_cochair.htm

38th European Symposium on Clinical Pharmacy

2009-07-03T20:09:00.003+03:00

In 2009, the European Society of Clinical Pharmacy celebrates its 30th anniversary.

ESCP was indeed founded in Lyon in 1979 by clinical practitioners, researchers and educators from various countries across Europe. After 30 years of continuous development, the value of clinical pharmacy is now recognized and we anticipate a bright future. Within an increasingly complex environment, health professionals must coordinate their actions and learn how to use new technologies to maximize efficiency. Such challenges and pressure on performance should not divert us from our essential purpose: Patient Care.

Scientific Programme

Click here to download the Preliminary Programme

The scientific programme includes keynote lectures, invited lectures, oral free communications, scientific and industry-supported symposia, working group meetings, moderated poster presentations and pre-congress educational courses. The official Symposium language is English. No simultaneous translation will be available.

Tuesday, 3 November 2009
Evening Opening Lecture: Pricing of Drugs & Transparency in Health Care, Richard Laing, WHO

Wednesday, 4 November 2009
Plenary sessions: APPROACHES TO INTERDISCIPLINARY CARE
Plenary 1A: Interdisciplinary Cooperation
Plenary 1B: Interdisciplinary Cooperation in Drug & Therapeutic Committees
Plenary 1C: Interdisciplinary Cooperation in Community Pharmacy

Thursday, 5 November 2009
Plenary session: PATIENT ORIENTED CARE
Plenary 2: Talking to Patients about Pharmacotherapy
Pharmacotherapy update 1: New Developments in Anticoagulant Therapy

Friday, 6 November 2009
Plenary session: TECHNOLOGY AND PATIENT CARE
Plenary 3: Integrating Technology in Patient Care
Pharmacotherapy update 2: Biosimilars

All afternoon parallel sessions are scheduled including interactive workshops, oral communications and poster discussion fora. Masterclasses and workshops will be announced in the Provisional Programme and on this website.

Important Dates and Deadlines
Registration opening: 01 April 2009
Abstract Submission opening: 01 May 2009
Abstract Submission deadline extended to: 20 July 2009, Midnight CET
Early Registration deadline: 31 July 2009
Notifications to Abstract Submitters: 14 Sept 2009
Registration Deadline for Abstract presenters: 29 Sept 2009
Register before 31 July 2009 in order to benefit from the low early-bird rates!

Sources

http://www.escpweb.org/site/cms/
http://www.escp-gsasa2009.org/

Common European Drug Database (CEDD) project

2009-05-26T10:33:00.003+03:00

The Common European Drug Database (CEDD) project is an initiative of the National Health Insurance Fund Administration of Hungary to make prices of pharmaceuticals easily available for the public of Europe.

The present website is a pilot version with the contribution of the:

Irish Health Service Executive,
Finnish Ministry of Social Affaires and Health,
Slovenian Health Insurance Institute,
Slovakian Ministry of Health,
Department of Pharmacy under the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Lithuania,
Polish Ministry of Health,
Norwegian Medicines Agency,
Main Association of Austrian Social Security Institutions and
State Institute of Drug Control of the Czech Republic

The developers hope that this initiative will be shortly extended to all Member States of the European Union. Comprehensive and updated price information could result in a more competitive, common European pharmaceutical market, which would mean a great health benefit for European citizens and stimulation to European innovation.

In the present version of the website you can search and compare the prices of Austrian, Czech, Finnish, Hungarian, Irish, Lithuanian, Norwegian, Polish, Slovenian and Slovakian pharmaceuticals according to product names or ATC codes.

Source

http://cedd.oep.hu/drugs.tib?s=drug-art&f=ceddart1&id=l8xakdcq3osro9bz&portallang=en

Tony West received the 2009 Guild of Healthcare Pharmacists (GHP) gold medal

2009-05-23T18:17:00.005+03:00

Tony West received the 2009 Guild of Healthcare Pharmacists (GHP) gold medal in recognition of his sustained contribution to hospital pharmacy at national level in UK.

Tony West is chief pharmacist and clinical director, Pharmacy and Medicines Management, Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, London.

The award was presented at the Annual National Joint GHP/UKCPA conference by Guild President Richard Cattell.

Tony is a past president of the Guild and is currently a member of the board of the European Association of Hospital Pharmacists (EAHP), where he serves as director of professional development.

Dear Tony congratulations from the European Hospital Pharmacy Blog ;)

Source

Pharmacy Europe

War on hospital bugs

2009-05-21T22:10:00.002+03:00

The European Parliament adopted a report backing measures designed to reduce the millions of infections picked up by patients in hospitals each year. The recruitment of specialised nurses, better education, support for research and better information for patients are among the measures proposed.

Patient safety is of increasing concern in healthcare systems everywhere. The most common problems are healthcare associated infections, medication-related events and complications during or after operations. Many such problems could be avoided fairly easily.

To help achieve this aim, MEPs are being asked to approve with amendments, under the consultation procedure, a draft Council recommendation on patient safety, including the prevention and control of healthcare associated infections. The report on this subject was drafted by Amalia Sartori (EPP-ED, IT) and adopted with 521 votes in favour, 6 against and 5 abstentions.

MEPs call for a 20% improvement by 2015

The Council recommendation calls for national programmes and policies on patient safety, better information to patients, improved reporting on "adverse events" such as infections, promotion of training for healthcare workers and knowledge sharing between Member States. MEPs believe it is important to set a reduction target for Member States to meet, so the amendments include a goal of a 20% reduction by 2015, or 900,000 cases a year. Commission studies indicate that such a reduction is achievable.

Millions affected each year

Adverse events occur in between 8% and 12% of patients admitted to EU hospitals, according to Commission statistics. This amounts to 6.7 to 15 million hospital inpatients.

In addition, some 37 million primary care patients a year suffer adverse effects linked directly to the treatment they have received. Among the most common are infections contracted in hospitals and other points of care. On average, these occur in one hospital patient in 20, giving an annual total of 4.1 million patients.

Even more worryingly, nosocomial infections (those resulting from treatment in a hospital or a healthcare service unit, but secondary to the patient's original condition) kill approximately 37,000 people every year. They are among the most frequent and destructive causes of unintended harm.

Factors that help trigger and spread nosocomial infections include viral antibiotic resistance, a high bed occupancy rate, the increase in patient transfers, an inadequate staff to patient ratio, a failure to pay proper heed to hand hygiene and various other practices serving to prevent infections, incorrect use of medical devices.

REF. : 20090422IPR54195

Contact

Constanze BECKERHOFF

: envi-press@europarl.europa.eu
: (32-2) 28 44302 (BXL)
: (33-3) 881 73780 (STR)
: (32) 498.983.550

Richard FREEDMAN

: press-EN@europarl.europa.eu
: (32-2) 28 41448 (BXL)
: (33-3) 881 73785 (STR)
: (+32) 498 98 32 39

Further information :

Adopted text (click on 23 April)

Source

http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/expert/infopress_page/066-54196-111-04-17-911-20090422IPR54195-21-04-2009-2009-false/default_en.htm

European Association of Hospital Pharmacists in Second Life

2009-03-30T22:57:00.003+03:00

European Association of Hospital Pharmacists -EAHP- has "Offices" in the virtual world of Second Life. Architecture and designer is our colleague "Daneel Ariantho".

You can see the machinima he produced for demonstrate the new possibilities of the brand new "Offices". The "avatar actors" are Mr "Daneel Ariantho" and Mrs "Seamless Karu" ;)

The place for the European Association of Hospital Pharmacists on Jokaydian Islands can be visited at http://slurl.com/secondlife/Jokaydia%20II/24/110/25

The Presentation of the exhibition is here: http://eahpvirtualexpo.net78.net/

The Abstract is here: http://eahpvirtualexpo.net78.net/?p=11

Keep on the good work Mr "Daneel Ariantho"

Sources

http://eahpvirtualexpo.net78.net/?p=11
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOaqb7Ii0Gc

Highlights from the 14th Congress of the European Association of Hospital Pharmacists in Barcelona, Spain

2009-03-30T22:53:00.002+03:00

The 14th Paneuropean Congress of European Association of Hospital Pharmacists, organised in Barcelona 25-27 March 2009, was completed with a great success.

Here you can find some photographic snapshots from the congress (you can click onto photos to see in big size).

IHE (Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise) Pharmacy domain is created

2009-03-29T09:55:00.005+03:00

IHE is an initiative by healthcare professionals and industry to improve the way computer systems in healthcare share information.

IHE promotes the coordinates use of established standards such as DICOM and HL7 to address specific clinical need in support of optimal patient care. Systems developed in accordance with IHE communicate with one another better, are easier to implement, and enable care providers to use information more effectively.

Simon Lettelier describes the details of the new domain in his post.

IHE (Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise) Pharmacy domain is created.

This new domain (as others IHE domains) is global.

We are searching sponsors at a worldwide level.

So, feel free to contact the IHE Pharmacy secretary ( simon [.] letellier {@} phast [.] fr ).

Please feel free too to repost, or to forward as email, this information to any organization of interest.

Details below in the IHE Pharmacy - outreach letter :

Dear All,

The pharmacy ecosystem increasingly becomes complex and requires a good interoperability among the participating systems. As a result, IHE International recently created a new global IHE Pharmacy domain with the goal to address the interoperability needs of information sharing systems and workflow systems for community pharmacists and hospital pharmacists. A description of the most important Use Cases can be found in the Pharmacy White Paper (PDF), prepared by IHE Europe.

The initial sponsors of IHE Pharmacy (EAHP, NICTIZ, Phast, GMSIh) have an European scope. In order to reflect the global nature of IHE Pharmacy, we want to outreach our membership and sponsorship to other regions and stakeholders.

According to the IHE Governance document ( here), a domain sponsor provides financial and other resources to support the activities in its domain (e.g. hosting meetings, serving as secretariat).

Hence, if your organization is interested to sponsor or participate in the new IHE Pharmacy domain, please contact the IHE Pharmacy secretary Simon Letellier ( simon [.] letellier {@} phast [.] fr ), by preference before end March 2009. Please feel free to forward this email to any organization of interest.

The creation of a new IHE domain always is an exciting experience and we hope that you want to participate in this challenging effort to improve the interoperability in the pharmacy domain.

We are available to handle further questions and look forward to hear from you.

Kind regards

Geert Claeys
On behalf of IHE Pharmacy Domain Sponsors

Source

http://simonletellier.blogspot.com/2009/03/ihe-pharmacy-domain-is-born-onward.html

Concerns expressed over Spice in European countries

2009-03-12T11:31:00.002+02:00

At the end of 2008, concern was expressed in some European countries in relation to ‘Spice’, a herbal mixture monitored since early last year by the EMCDDA’s early-warning system (EWS) on new psychoactive substances. Spice refers to a blend of plant or herbal ingredients, including Indian Warrior and Lion's Tail (1).

A number of Spice products can be bought on the Internet, as well as in head shops and smart shops in some Member States, and are sometimes sold as a mix of air-freshening herbs. A 2008 EMCDDA study into ‘legal highs’ sold via the web, found that Spice was frequently offered as a smoking blend (i.e. 37 % online shops investigated) (2). Different blends and flavours are marketed under a variety of names including: Spice silver, Spice gold, Spice diamond, Spice tropical synergy and Spice Yucatan fire.

Some users have reported that, when smoked, Spice products can have similar effects to those produced by cannabis. This may be due to the fact that a new psychoactive substance, JWH-018 (Naphthalen-1-yl-(1-pentylindol-3-yl) methanon) (3) — a synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonist —has been identified in Germany and Austria in at least three Spice products (gold, silver and diamond). It is currently unclear whether JWH-018 is present in all Spice products or merely in some types or batches. It is also possible that other natural or synthetic psychoactive substances are being surreptitiously added to Spice products.

Responding to potential health concerns, Germany and Austria have taken legal action in recent weeks to ban or otherwise control Spice products. In Austria, a directive under the Medicines Act of 7 January 2009 declares that ‘smoking mixes containing JWH-018’ are Towards the better treatment of addiction.

Ongoing research can make a valuable prohibited from being imported or marketed in the country. And the Austrian authorities continue to review whether control is required under its Narcotic Drugs Law. In Germany, following rapid control under the national Pharmaceutical Law in 2008, an emergency regulation (in effect from 22 January), brought five cannabinoids found in Spice mixes under the Narcotic Drugs Law (one of which is JWH018).

Jennifer Hillebrand, Brendan Hughes and Roumen Sedefov

(1) Others include: Baybean, Blue Lotus, Dwarf Scullcap, Honey, Lousewort, Maconha Brava, Marsh mallow, Pink Lotus, Red Clover, Rose, Siberian Motherwort and Vanilla.
(2) Hillebrand, J., Olszewski, D., Sedefov, R. (in press) Substance Use and Misuse, Vol 45.
(3) Another chemical name is (1-pentyl-3-(1-naphthoyl) indole).

Source

http://www.emcdda.europa.eu/attachements.cfm/att_69417_EN_EMCDDA-Drugnet65.pdf

The White Paper for Hospital Pharmacy and Community Pharmacy is available for Public Comment

2009-02-20T23:06:00.002+02:00

The White Paper for Hospital Pharmacy and Community Pharmacy is ready and is waiting for your comments. Geert Claeys, IHE Eur Pharmacy Task Force, send the following info:

The White Paper for Hospital Pharmacy and Community Pharmacy is available for Public Comment at ftp://ftp.ihe.net/International/Europe/Development/Pharmacy/White%20Paper/IHE+Eur-Pharmacy-WhitePaper-PublicComment-1.0.pdf.

The White Paper describes the main interoperability Use Cases, the related actors & sequence diagrams and gives an overview of relevant standards. The White Paper will be used as input for the development of the IHE Pharmacy Integration Profile.

The Public Comment period closes at 25 March 2009. Please use the attached template to submit your comments to secretariat@cocir.org

Kind regards

Geert Claeys

IHE Eur Pharmacy Task Force

* IHE Pharmacy White Paper - Comment Template.doc

Three legislative proposals from the European Commission for safe, innovative and accessible medicines

2009-01-15T21:50:00.002+02:00

IP/08/1924

Brussels, 10th December 2008

Safe, innovative and accessible medicines: a renewed vision for the pharmaceutical sector

The EU has been losing ground in pharmaceutical innovation. European patients still suffer from inequalities in the availability of information about medicines, whilst counterfeits are on the rise. To address these challenges, the Commission has tabled a package, consisting of four key parts:

1. A communication to launch reflections on ways to improve market access and to develop initiatives to boost EU pharmaceutical research.

2. A proposal to tackle the growing issues of counterfeiting and illegal distribution of medicines,

3. Proposals to enable citizens to have access to high-quality information on prescription-only medicines and

4. Proposals to improve patient protection by strengthening the EU system for the safety monitoring ('pharmacovigilance') of medicines.

Commission Vice President Günter Verheugen, responsible for enterprise and industry said: “Everything we are suggesting today builds on the needs and interests of patients European citizens should benefit from safe, innovative and accessible medicines. They should be best informed about available medicines and treatments – since their health is at stake. We wish to restore the EU's traditional role as the pharmacy of the world. ”

The pharmaceutical sector makes an important contribution to European and global well-being through the availability of medicines, economic growth and sustainable employment. It has been and remains a strategic sector for Europe. It employs more than 634,000 people and accounts for more than 17% of the EU Research and Development (R&D) expenditure. Most importantly, innovation in human medicines has enabled patients to benefit from treatments considered unimaginable a few decades ago. Much has been achieved. However, major health, economic and scientific challenges lie ahead:

- Increasing globalisation of the sector brings new opportunities but also challenges. New markets are opening up; counterfeit medicines are on the rise;

- Shortcomings exist in the EU pharmaceutical market which affect patients' access to medicines and to relevant information, but also hampers the competitiveness of the industry;

Today’s Communication outlines a series of legislative proposals, political initiatives and international collaboration projects:

1. Legislative proposals:
- to tackle the growing issues of counterfeiting and illegal distribution of medicines (see Memo)
- to enable citizens to have access to high-quality information on prescription-only medicines (see Memo).
- to improve patient protection by strengthening the EU system for the safety monitoring ('pharmacovigilance') of medicines (see Memo)
These proposals will now be transmitted to the European Parliament and the Council.

2. A political communication:
- to discuss with Member States ways to improve market access by making pricing/reimbursement decisions more transparent;
- to develop initiatives to boost EU pharmaceutical research.
- to intensify cooperation with major partners (US, Japan, Canada) to improve medicines’ safety worldwide;
- to strengthen cooperation with emerging partners (Russia, India, China).

More information

http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/pharmaceuticals/index_en.htm

Source

http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/pharmaceuticals/pharmacos/pharmpack_en.htm

Congresses for Hospital Pharmacists during 2009

2009-01-03T10:04:00.011+02:00

Here are our proposals for the congresses during the year 2009!

Pharmaceutical Care Network Europe
The 6th Working Conference of the Pharmaceutical Care Network Europe
4-7 March 2009
Vimeiro, Lisbon, Portugal

European Association of Hospital Pharmacists
http://www.eahp.eu/Annual-Congresses/2009-Annual-Congress/Barcelona-2009
14th Congress of the EAHP
25 - 27 March 2009
Barcelona, Spain

FIP International Pharmaceutical Federation
69th World Congress of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences
03-08 September 2009
Istanbul, Turkey

ISPOR International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research
ISPOR 12th Annual European Congress
24-27 October, 2009
Paris, France

ESCP European Society of Clinical Pharmacy
http://www.escpweb.org/site/cms/contentViewArticle.asp?article=1729
30 Years of Clinical Pharmacy : a bright future ahead !
3-6 November 2009
Geneva, Switzerland

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

2008-12-23T19:31:00.001+02:00

+
XXX
XXXXX
XXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXX
"BUON ANNO"
"JOYEUX NOEL"
"VESELE VANOCE"
"MELE KALIKIMAKA"
"NODLAG SONA DHUIT"
"BLWYDDYN NEWYDD DDA"
"GOD JUL"
"FELIZ NATAL"
"BOAS FESTAS"
"FELIZ NAVIDAD"
"MERRY CHRISTMAS"
"VROLIJK KERSTFEEST"
"ΚΑΛΑ ΧΡΙΣΤΟΥΓΕΝΝΑ"
"VROLIJK KERSTFEEST"
"FROHLICHE WEIHNACHTEN"
"BUON NATALE-GODT NYTAR"
"HUAN YING SHENG TAN CHIEH"
"WESOLYCH SWIAT-SRETAN BOZIC"
"MOADIM LESIMHA-LINKSMU KALEDU"
"HAUSKAA JOULUA-AID SAID MOUBARK"
"'N PRETTIG KERSTMIS"
"ONNZLLISTA UUTTA VUOTTA"
"Z ROZHDESTYOM KHRYSTOVYM"
"NADOLIG LLAWEN-GOTT NYTTSAR"
"FELIC NADAL-GOJAN KRISTNASKON"
"S NOVYM GODOM-FELIZ ANO NUEVO"
"GLEDILEG JOL-NOELINIZ KUTLU OLSUM"
"EEN GELUKKIG NIEUWJAAR-SRETAN BOSIC"
"KRIHSTLINDJA GEZUAR-KALA CHRISTOUGENA"
"SELAMAT HARI NATAL - LAHNINGU NAJU METU"
"SARBATORI FERICITE-BUON ANNO"
"ZORIONEKO GABON-HRISTOS SE RODI"
"BOLDOG KARACSONNY-VESELE VIANOCE "
"MERRY CHRISTMAS - - HAPPY NEW YEAR"
"ROOMSAID JOULU PUHI -KUNG HO SHENG TEN"
"FELICES PASUAS-EIN GLUCKICHES NEWJAHR"
"PRIECIGUS ZIEMAN SVETKUS SARBATORI VESLLE"
"BONNE ANNEBLWYDDYN NEWYDD DDADRFELIZ NATAL"
XXXXX
XXXXX
XXXXX

Best wishes for Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

The European Commission adopted a Green Paper on the EU workforce for health

2008-12-22T13:40:00.002+02:00

Commission launches a public consultation on the future of Europe's workforce for health.The European Commission adopted a green paper on the EU workforce for health. This marks the beginning of a consultation period which aims to identify common responses to the many challenges facing the health workforce in Europe.

There are a number of challenges facing health systems in Europe. People are living longer, new technology is making it possible to increase the range and quality of, often, expensive treatments. There are new and re-emerging threats to health eg from communicable diseases and citizens have ever-rising expectations about having access to the best possible healthcare.

Developing effective and efficient health systems able to respond to the challenges they face depends to a considerable extent on having a high-quality health workforce of sufficient capacity and with the right skills, and for the European Union that means throughout the Member States.

In light of the fact that Member States are facing a number of common problems with their health workforces, there is much to be gained by promoting cooperation and common approaches between the Member States. The European Community can add value by supporting this.

The aim of the Green Paper is to increase the visibility of these issues, to generate a clearer picture of the extent to which local and/or national health managers face the same challenges and to engage stakeholders in the debate so as to help those responsible across Europe to address these problems effectively.

The public consultation process sets out to obtain stakeholders' views on a wide range of issues connected with the healthcare workforce and preparing for the care of an ageing population. The results of the consultation will feed in to our consideration of what the EU can do to support Member States in tackling these challenges.

Sources

http://ec.europa.eu/health-eu/newsletter/27/newsletter_en.htm

http://ec.europa.eu/health/ph_systems/workforce_en.htm

http://ec.europa.eu/health/ph_systems/docs/workforce_gp_en.pdf

President of EAHP, Jacqueline Surugue, honoured with esteemed Donald E. Francke Medal

2008-12-12T13:34:00.002+02:00

European Association of Hospital Pharmacists
EAHP, Rue Abbé Cuypers, 3, B - 1040 Brussels, Belgium

EAHP PRESS RELEASE

12 December 2008

President of EAHP, Jacqueline Surugue, honoured with esteemed Donald E. Francke Medal at ASHP Mid-Year Clinical Meeting in Orlando this week.

Jacqueline Surugue, President of the European Association of Hospital Pharmacists (EAHP), was awarded the prestigious Donald E. Francke Medal at the opening ceremony of the 43rd Mid-Year Clinical Meeting of the American Society of Health System Pharmacists (ASHP) in Orlando, Florida, USA on December 8th 2008.

“Jacqueline Surugue’s efforts to advance the profession serve as an inspiration to health system pharmacists around the world. It is an honour to recognise her hard work and dedication with the Donald E. Francke Medal” said ASHP President, Kevin J. Colgan, M. A., FASHP.

The Donald E. Francke Award was established by the American Society of Health System Pharmacists in 1971 to honour individuals who have made significant contributions to international pharmacy practice. Since that date, it has only been awarded 12 times. Jacqueline Surugue is the 4th European, the second woman, and the first French pharmacist to receive this prestigious distinction. Her address, as this year’s award recipient, was entitled “Going global”.

Jacqueline Surugue has been a key leader in making the EAHP a cohesive force for advancing hospital pharmacy in Europe. She has worked passionately to ensure that the 21,000 hospital pharmacists in Europe have a voice in the important healthcare discussions taking place within the European Union. She has also led efforts to professionalize EAHP operations, building an expert staff of association management professionals based in Brussels, Belgium, the headquarters of the European Union.

Jacqueline Surugue is currently chief of the pharmacy department of Centre Hospitalier Georges Renon, a 1200 bed hospital in Niort, France. In addition, she is a pharmacy lecturer at the University of Angers. In 2006, she was elected vice president of the Federation Internationale Pharmaceutique (FIP) Hospital Section and is an elected member of the National Council of the French Order of Pharmacists. Since 2007, she has served on the Council of Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise (IHE).

ASHP is a society of 35,000 members including pharmacists and pharmacy technicians, as well as, pharmacy students who practice in hospital settings within the USA.

For information, visit www.ashp.org

* The picture is a courtesy of ASHP

Medication safety check online

2008-12-10T08:58:00.000+02:00

iGuard.org is a healthcare service that helps monitor the safety of the medications (including prescription drugs, over-the-counter drugs, nutritional supplements and herbal extracts).

iGuard.org helps patients stay safer by:

1. Routinely checking the safety of their medications, screening for drug-drug and drug-disease interactions.

2. Alerting the patient and the doctor (optional) as important safety information arises for the medications.

3. Providing an easily accessible summary of the medications and conditions that the patient can share with his/her healthcare team.

4. Helping the patient learn and share treatment satisfaction and side effect information within the patient community.

Sources

http://www.pharmacyeurope.net/default.asp

http://iguard.org/help/patients/

Annual report 2008 from the European Union Drugs Agency

2008-11-01T13:09:00.001+02:00

Latest on the drugs problem across Europe

Annual report 2008 from the European Union Drugs Agency

Launch date: Thursday 6 November
Time: 10:00 CET (Brussels time)
Venue: European Parliament press room (PHS 0A 050), Rue Wiertz, B-1047 Brussels
Information package and event details: http://www.emcdda.europa.eu/events/2008/annual-report

(20.10.2008, LISBON) The latest facts, figures and trends on drugs in Europe will be addressed in the upcoming Annual report 2008: the state of the drugs problem in Europe, from the Lisbon-based EU drugs agency, the EMCDDA. The report offers an overview of the drug situation across the 27 EU Member States, Croatia, Turkey and Norway, and details the current legal, political, social and health responses.

Individual chapters dedicated to specific drugs present the latest European overview of: prevalence and patterns of use; supply and availability; and treatment and other interventions. These are complemented by chapters relating to: policies and laws; responding to drug problems in Europe; drug-related infectious diseases and deaths; and new drugs and emerging trends.

Annual report — downloadable in 23 languages (21 EU plus Norwegian and Turkish):

http://www.emcdda.europa.eu/publications/annual-report/2008

Selected issue — offering an in-depth review of Drugs and vulnerable groups of young people, downloadable in English: http://www.emcdda.europa.eu/publications/selected-issues

2008 Statistical bulletin — providing tables and statistical graphs:

http://www.emcdda.europa.eu/stats08

Country overviews — providing a synopsis of the trends and characteristics of national drug problems. These consist of a summary of the national drug situation, key statistics at a glance and a barometer showing the drug use prevalence position of each country: http://www.emcdda.europa.eu/publications/country-overviews

Reitox national reports — describing the drug phenomenon in individual countries, downloadable in English: http://www.emcdda.europa.eu/publications/national-reports

Press pack — downloadable in 23 languages (also available: MP3 files for radio journalists; RSS feeds):

http://www.emcdda.europa.eu/about/press/news-releases/2008

The above products will go online at 10:00 CET. Helpdesks will operate at the EMCDDA (Lisbon) on the day of the launch to answer journalists’ questions — Tel. (351) 218 11 30 00 / 40 / 21 / 59 / 97 — while helpdesks at the Reitox national focal points will answer country-specific queries (see event details above).

The EMCDDA is the hub of drug-related information in the European Union. Its mission is to provide the EU and its Member States with an evidence base on the European drugs problem to inform policymaking and practice.

Contact: Kathy Robertson, Media relations • Kathryn.Robertson@emcdda.europa.eu

Rua da Cruz de Santa Apolónia 23-25, 1149-045 Lisbon, Portugal

Tel. (351) 218 11 30 00 • Fax (351) 218 13 17 11 • info@emcdda.europa.eu • www.emcdda.europa.eu

New Commission initiative on patients' rights in cross-border healthcare

2008-10-20T16:58:00.001+03:00

Although the vast majority of patients receive healthcare in their own country, sometimes the care is best provided abroad. This can be the case for example for highly specialised care or in border areas where the nearest appropriate facility is abroad.

Rules for receiving cross-border healthcare and for reimbursement of costs are now not always completely clear or easy to understand. That is why the Commission has developed a proposal for a legal instrument which will provide more clarity about possibilities to seek healthcare in another Member State. The proposal will also make clear who is responsible for quality and safety of care in cross-border settings. Finally it will strengthen cooperation in different areas, such as networks of centres of reference for specialised care, for example.

This proposal will thus help patients in getting the healthcare they need, and help Member States ensure the accessibility, quality and financial sustainability of their health systems and the well-being of their citizens.

For more information, documents, videos,etc, please follow the links bellow.

Sources

http://www.eahp.eu/EAHP-EU-Monitor

http://ec.europa.eu/health-eu/news/streaming/crossborder/crossborder_en.htm

Statements of the Global Conference on the future of hospital Pharmacy FIP Basel 2008

2008-09-17T17:51:00.002+03:00

FIP Global Conference on the Future of Hospital Pharmacy

Consensus statements

As adopted on 31 August 2008

Statements of the Global Conference on the future of hospital Pharmacy FIP Basel 2008

The Global Conference on the Future of Hospital Pharmacy was hosted by the FIP Hospital Pharmacy Section as part of the 68th Annual Congress of the International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP). A total of 348 hospital pharmacists representing 98 nations met in Basel, Switzerland on 30 and 31 August and successfully developed 74 consensus statements reflecting the profession’s preferred vision of practice in the hospital setting.

Following two days of debate and discussion, all of the consensus statements were approved by the assembled delegates.

The statements cover all areas of the medicine use process in hospitals, including the procurement of medicines, preparation and distribution, prescribing, administration of medicines, and the monitoring of patient outcomes. In addition, issues related to human resources and training were addressed. Medication safety was an important consideration in all consensus statement development.

The FIP Global Conference on the Future of Hospital Pharmacy has been in planning for nearly 3 years, during which time a survey of hospital pharmacy practice was conducted. The survey, describing the nature and scope of pharmacy practice worldwide, included responses from 85 nations representing 86% of the world population.

All of the approved consensus statements, along with evidence-based literature reviews that support the statements, will be published in early 2009 in a special supplement of the American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy. Free access to the full proceedings will be made possible through the Journal web site.

For more information about the Global Conference, see the Conference web site at www.fip.org/globalhosp.

The following 74 consensus statements were adopted by the assembled delegates on 31 August 2008 in Basel, Switzerland:

Overarching Statements

1. The overarching goal of hospital pharmacists is to optimize patient outcomes through the judicious, safe, efficacious, appropriate, and cost effective use of medicines.
2. At a global level, ‘Good Hospital Pharmacy Practice’ guidelines based on evidence should be developed. These guidelines should assist national efforts to define standards across the levels, coverage, and scope of hospital pharmacy services and should include corresponding human resource and training requirements.
3. The five rights (the right patient, right medicine, right dose, right route, and right time) should be fulfilled in all medicines-related activities in the hospital.
4. Health authorities and hospital administrators should engage hospital pharmacists in all steps in the hospital medicines-use process.
5. Health authorities should ensure that each hospital pharmacy is supervised by pharmacists who have completed specialized training in hospital pharmacy.
6. The Chief Pharmacist/Director of Pharmacy should be the senior professional responsible for co-ordinating the judicious, safe, efficacious, appropriate, and cost effective use of medicines in the hospital.
7. Hospital pharmacists should take responsibility for all medicines logistics in hospitals.
8. Hospital pharmacists should serve as a resource regarding all aspects of medicines use and be accessible as a point of contact for health care providers.
9. All prescriptions should be reviewed, interpreted, and validated by a hospital pharmacist prior to the medicine being dispensed and administered.
10. Hospital pharmacists should be allowed to access the full patient record.
11. Hospital pharmacists should provide orientation and education to nurses, physicians, and other hospital staff regarding best practices for medicines use.
12. Undergraduate pharmacy curricula should include hospital-relevant content, and post-graduate training programs and specializations in hospital pharmacy should be developed.
13. Hospital pharmacists should actively engage in research into new methods and systems to improve the use of medicines.

Theme 1 - Procurement

14. The procurement process must be transparent, professional, and ethical to promote equity and access and to ensure accountability to relevant governing and legal entities.
15. The model for procurement must be reviewed regularly to ensure that it is the most appropriate and cost effective in meeting current and future needs.
16. Procurement should be guided by the principle of procuring for safety.
17. Procurement of pharmaceuticals is a complex process that requires pharmacist control and technically competent staff.
18. Operational principles for good procurement practice should be regularly reviewed and adapted to fit different settings and emerging needs.
19. Procurement must be supported by strong quality assurance principles to ensure that poor quality medicines are not procured or allowed into the system. Proper storage to ensure maintenance of quality in the whole supply pipeline is mandatory.
20. Procurement should not occur in isolation, but rather be informed by the formulary selection process.
21. Good procurement must be supported by a reliable information system that provides accurate, timely, and accessible information.
22. A formal mechanism must be in place for pharmacists to request designated funds to procure medicines for their patients.
23. Each pharmacy should have contingency plans for medicines shortages and purchases in emergencies.

Theme 2 - Influences on Prescribing

24. Hospitals should utilize a medicine formulary system (local, regional, and/or national) linked to standard treatment guidelines, protocols, and treatment pathways based on the best available evidence.
25. Hospital pharmacists should be members of pharmacy and therapeutics committees to oversee all medicines-management policies and procedures, including those related to off-label use and investigational medicines.
26. Hospital pharmacists should take every opportunity to educate prescribers at all levels of training about medicines.
27. Hospital pharmacists should have a key role in educating prescribers on the access to and evidence for optimal and appropriate use of medicines, including the required monitoring variables and prescribing adjustments.
28. Hospital pharmacists should be involved in all patient care areas to prospectively influence collaborative therapeutic decision-making.
29. Hospital pharmacists should be an integral part of all patient rounds to assist with therapeutic decision-making and advise on clinical pharmacy and patient safety issues.
30. Hospital pharmacists should provide continuity of care by transferring patient medicines information as patients move between sectors of care.
31. Postgraduate clinical courses should be developed to prepare hospital pharmacists for collaborative prescribing of medicines, including instruction in legal and professional accountability; this role of hospital pharmacists should be promoted in the curricula of other health professionals.

Theme 3 - Preparation and Delivery

32. Hospital pharmacists should ensure that proper storage conditions are provided for all medicines used in the hospital.
33. Hospital pharmacists should assume responsibility for the control of medicines stored throughout the hospital.
34. Hospital pharmacists should ensure that compounded medicines are consistently prepared to comply with quality standards.
35. Hospital pharmacists should provide pharmacy-managed injectable admixture services using aseptic technique.
36. Hazardous medicines including cytotoxics should be prepared under environmental conditions that minimize the risk of contaminating the product and exposing hospital personnel to harm.
37. Hospital pharmacists should decrease the risk of medication errors by implementing evidence-based systems or technologies, such as automated prescription-filling, unit dose distribution, and bar coding systems.
38. Hospital pharmacists should support the development of policies regarding the use of medicines brought into the hospital by patients, including the evaluation of appropriateness of herbal and dietary supplements.
39. Hospital pharmacists should assume responsibility for storage, preparation, dispensing, and distribution of investigational medicines.
40. Hospital pharmacists should implement systems for tracing medicines dispensed by the pharmacy (to facilitate recalls, for example).

Theme 4 - Administration

41. Hospital pharmacists should ensure that the information resources needed for safe medicines preparation and administration are accessible at the point of care.
42. Hospital pharmacists should ensure that allergies are accurately recorded in a standard location in patient records and evaluated prior to medicines administration.
43. Hospital pharmacists should ensure that medicines are packaged and labeled to ensure identification and to maintain integrity until immediately prior to administration to the individual patient.
44. Where medicines are labeled for individual patients, full details to ensure safe administration should be included, for example, name of medicine, route, and, where appropriate, dose in mass and volume.
45. Storage of concentrated electrolyte products (such as potassium chloride and sodium chloride) and other high-risk medicines on patient wards should be eliminated by dispensing ready-to-administer dilutions, or, if necessary, storing such products distinctly labeled in separate or secure areas.
46. Health care professionals responsible for administering injectable medicines and chemotherapy should be trained in their use, hazards, and necessary precautions.
47. Doses of chemotherapy and other designated medicines (based upon risk assessment) should be independently checked against the original prescription by two health care professionals at the point of care prior to administration.
48. Pharmacists should ensure that strategies and policies are implemented to prevent wrong route errors, including, for example, labeling of intravenous tubing near insertion site to prevent misconnections, and use of enteral feeding
catheters that cannot be connected with intravenous or other parenteral lines.
49. Vinca alkaloids should be diluted, ideally in a minibag and/or large syringe (for pediatric patients), and dispensed with special labeling precautions in order to prevent inadvertent intrathecal administration.
50. Oral syringes that are distinctly different from hypodermic syringes should be used to prevent injection of enteral or oral medicines, especially in pediatric patients.
51. Medicines not commercially available for neonatal and pediatric patients should be prepared by the hospital pharmacy.
52. Standard concentrations of medicines should be determined, procured, and prepared for all patients, and especially for pediatric, neonatal, and critical care patients.
53. Hospital pharmacists should be responsible for determining which medicines are included in ward stock and for standardizing the storage and handling of ward medicines.
54. Hospital pharmacists should develop simple, rules-based approaches to advancing patient safety; for example, when a large number of dosage units are needed to give a dose (more than two tablets, vials, etc.), the prescription should be verified prior to administration.
55. Hospital pharmacists should ensure the development of quality assurance strategies for medicines administration, including the use of observation methodology to detect errors and identify priorities for improvement.
56. The medicines administration process should be designed such that transcription steps between the original prescription and the medicines administration record are eliminated.

Theme 5 - Monitoring of Medication Practice

57. A reporting system for defective medicines should be established and maintained to monitor and take the necessary action to minimize identified risks. Reports of defective or substandard medicines should be sent to regional or national pharmacovigilance reporting programs where these are available.
58. A reporting system for adverse drug reactions should be established and maintained, and the necessary action should be taken to minimize identified risks. Reaction reports should be sent to regional or national pharmacovigilance reporting programs where these are available.
59. A reporting system for medication errors should be established and maintained, and the necessary action should be taken to minimize identified risks. Reports of medication errors should be sent to regional or national medication error reporting programs where these are available.
60. Hospital medication practice should be self assessed and data trended internally and compared with best practice in other institutions to improve safety, clinical effectiveness, and cost effectiveness.
61. Hospital medication practices should be reviewed by an external quality assessment accreditation program. Hospitals should act on reports following regular external quality assessment inspections to improve the quality and safety of their practices.
62. Pharmacists’ clinical interventions should be documented in the patient record. These data should be regularly analyzed to improve the quality and safety of medication practice.
63. Trigger tools should be used to provide quantitative data on adverse drug events in the hospital. These data should be regularly reviewed to improve the quality and safety of medication practices.
64. Advanced clinical pharmacy services should manage medication therapy to optimize therapeutic outcomes. Outcomes data from such programs should be regularly reviewed and used to improve the quality and safety of medication practices. Examples include management of anticoagulation therapy, antimicrobial therapy, and therapeutic drug monitoring.

Theme 6 - Human Resources and Training

65. At a national level, health authorities should bring together stakeholders to collaboratively develop evidence-based hospital pharmacy human resource plans aligned to meet health needs and priorities across public and private sectors that optimize patient outcomes.
66. Key stakeholders should ensure that workforce education, training, competency, size, and capacity are appropriate to the levels, coverage, scope, and responsibilities of all cadres providing pharmacy services.
67. Hospital pharmacy human resource plans should cover all cadres and be linked to health targets. Such plans should describe strategies for human resource education and training, recruitment and retention, competency development, salary and career progression pathways, gender-sensitive policies, equitable deployment and distribution, management, and roles and responsibilities of stakeholders for implementation.
68. Hospitals should maintain human resource information systems that contain basic data for planning, training, appraising, and supporting the workforce. Data should be collated at a national level to improve human resource strategy.
69. Health authorities, educators, professional associations, and employers should address pharmacy human resource shortages through sustainable strategies for workforce supply, recruitment, and retention, particularly in rural and remote areas.
70. The training programs of mid-level pharmacy human resources (technicians or the equivalent) should be nationally formalized, harmonized, and credentialed for the attainment of defined competencies within a defined scope of practice.
71. Hospital human resource policies should be founded in ethical principles, equal opportunity, and human rights and be compliant with labor regulations, guidelines, and hospital pharmacy practice standards.
72. Nationally, levels of practice and associated competency requirements should be defined and regularly assessed to form a competency framework for all cadres.
73. Hospitals should use a nationally accepted competency framework to assess individual human resource training needs and performance.
74. The hospital pharmacy human resource evidence gap should be explored and addressed through a strategic research agenda.

Highlights from the Global Conference on the Future of Hospital Pharmacy

2008-09-17T17:51:00.000+03:00

MEDIA RELEASE

FIP Global Conference on the Future of Hospital Pharmacy Successfully Completed

3 September 2008, Switzerland

- Hospital pharmacists from around the world met in Basel, Switzerland and successfully developed 74 consensus statements reflecting the profession's preferred vision of practice in the hospital setting. The Global Conference on the Future of Hospital Pharmacy was hosted by the FIP Hospital Pharmacy Section as part of the 68th Annual Congress of the International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP).

According to Andy Gray (South Africa), President of the FIP Hospital Pharmacy Section, "We believe that this historic consensus meeting will motivate all pharmacists, especially those in hospitals, to reconsider their practice and commit to improvements that will positively affect patient outcomes."

The FIP Global Conference on the Future of Hospital Pharmacy has been in planning for nearly 3 years, during which time a survey of hospital pharmacy practice was conducted.

A total of 348 registrants representing 98 nations met on 30 and 31 August to develop and endorse the list of goals and objectives. Following two days of debate and discussion, all of the consensus statements were approved by the assembled delegates. The statements cover all areas of the medicine use process in hospitals, including the procurement of medicines, preparation and distribution, prescribing, administration of medicines, and the monitoring of patient outcomes. In addition, issues related to human resources and training were addressed. Medication safety was an important consideration in all consensus statement development.

The survey, describing the nature and scope of pharmacy practice worldwide, included responses from 85 nations representing 86% of the world population. The Chair of the Conference Steering Committee, Lee Vermeulen (USA), said "The incredibly strong evidence base we compiled and analyzed supported the consensus development and will allow hospital pharmacists to expand their practices and have a profound impact on the quality, safety and efficiency of medicine use in the hospital setting."

All of the approved consensus statements, along with evidence-based literature reviews that support the statements, will be published in early 2009 in a special supplement of the American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy. Free access to the full proceedings will be made possible through the Journal web site.

For more information about the Global Conference, see the Conference web site at
www.fip.org/globalhosp.

Sources

http://www.fip.org/www/?page=menu_latestnews
>http://www.fip.org/globalhosp

Congress for Parenteral Nutrition and Metabolism, ESPEN 2008

2008-08-25T18:00:00.000+03:00

ESPEN -European Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism welcome us in Florence, Italy for the 30 Congress, from 13-16 of September, 2008.

The motto of ESPEN 2008 is: “Nutrition Renaissance from care to cure”.

For the program or any other detail, please visit the address:

http://www.espen.org/npages/florence/

PPRI report on pharmaceutical pricing and reimbursement policies

2008-08-06T15:11:00.000+03:00

PPRI, the acronym for Pharmaceutical Pricing and Reimbursement Information, is a networking and information-sharing initiative on burning issues of pharmaceutical policies from a public health perspective. It involves a network of more than 50 institutions (mainly competent authorities and third party payers) from the whole European Union, plus Albania, Canada, Norway, Switzerland and Turkey.

In June 2008, the PPRI Report was published. On 140 pages, it provides an in-depth overview on pharmaceutical pricing and reimbursement and an analysis of strategies for rational use and cost-containment in the EU Member States of the enlarged European Union. This report is accompanied by detailed 21 country reports (so-called PPRI Pharma Profiles) on the pharmaceutical systems.

Have a look at the table of content!

Download here the PPRI Report (without Annexes).

Please note that the PPRI Report contains two Annexes: Annex I covering the PPRI Pharma Profiles, and Annex II provides PPRI Tools and Reports.

The PPRI Pharma Profiles of Annex I can be downloaded under the next section country information

Source

http://ppri.oebig.at/

Deregulation of the Swedish Pharmacy system

2008-07-27T10:07:00.001+03:00

Things are going to change in the Sweden Pharmacy sector, both in Hospital and Community. An article, written by Dr Srinivas Uppugunduri, in the new issue of the European Journal of Hospital Pharmacy-Practice shows us the way. Here are some highlights:

"Sweden, in stark contrast to most European countries, has had a state-owned monopoly for retailing and distribution of drugs. The Swedish government, in a wave of nationalisations, created Apoteket AB (The National Board of Swedish Pharmacies) in the early 1970s. Apoteket AB, a public sector company owned by the Swedish state was awarded the exclusive privilege of operating, both, community and hospital pharmacies.

... deregulation should take place in three stages.

The first step will be the deregulation of the hospital pharmacies which will be effective from 1 September 2008
The second step will be to allow private enterprises to open community pharmacies
The last set of proposals aims at making many OTC drugs available, without professional supervision, at many retailing stations such as gas stations and grocery shops

...
Provided the necessary legislation is in place, we might see the advent of privately run hospital pharmacies for the very first time in Swedish history."

Sources

Read the whole article in: http://www.eahponline.org/upload/ejhp/NationalNews13(2).pdf

Inquiry on the re-regulation of the pharmacy market: http://www.sweden.gov.se/sb/d/10667/a/105674

The Government's decisions concerning the pharmacy market: http://www.sweden.gov.se/sb/d/10667/a/105672

Commission v Spain on access to hospital pharmacy practice

2008-06-11T23:55:00.000+03:00

In 2007, the Commission decided to refer Spain to the European Court of Justice over its failure to implement Directive 89/48/EEC on a general system for the recognition of professional qualifications in the case of the profession of hospital pharmacist (ECJ case C 39/07).

Qualified hospital pharmacists from other EU Member States have difficulties in obtaining the right to practise in Spain and, consequently, are denied the rights of freedom of movement and freedom of establishment granted by the Treaty, the ECJ rules.

The Court (Second Chamber) hereby:

1. Declares that, by failing to adopt all the measures necessary to transpose Council Directive 89/48/EEC of 21 December 1988 on a general system for the recognition of higher-education diplomas awarded on completion of professional education and training of at least three years’ duration, as far as the profession of hospital pharmacist is concerned, the Kingdom of Spain has failed to fulfil its obligations under that directive;

2. Orders the Kingdom of Spain to pay the costs.

Sources

http://www.eahp.eu/asp/monitor_news_detail.asp?ID=156&m=11
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:62007J0039:EN:HTML

Global Conference on the Future of Hospital Pharmacy, FIP, Basel 2008

2008-05-04T12:43:00.000+03:00

You are invited to participate in a historic event that will guide the future development of hospital pharmacy practice around the world. The FIP Hospital Pharmacy Section (HPS) is hosting a Global Conference on the Future of Hospital Pharmacy immediately before the start of the 68th International Congress of the International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP).

The conference is open to any hospital pharmacy leader, hospital pharmacist or other individual interested in hospital pharmacy practice. This event will give the participants the opportunity to share professional experiences in hospital pharmacy with colleagues from all over the world.

The complete findings of a Global Survey on Hospital Pharmacy Practice, a FIP Board of Pharmaceutical Practice Special Project carried out in 2007-2008, will be presented.

The participants will identify opportunities for global advancement of hospital pharmacy practice relevant to the needs of each participating country. Working group sessions will focus on various dimensions of the medication use process in hospital. Consensus statements will be developed to offer guidance on the development of tools to advance hospital pharmacy practice.

The conference will truly be a unique opportunity to influence, in a very direct way, the development of hospital pharmacy in all countries of the world, consistent with the critical needs that patients and healthcare professionals have for pharmacists’ expertise.

Conference Dates: Saturday 30th of August 2008 - Sunday 31st of August 2008

For more information and schedule of the conference:

http://www.fip.org/CONGRESS/basel08/

http://www.fip.org/CONGRESS/basel08/index.php?page=basel_prog_programmebyday

http://www.fip.org/CONGRESS/basel08/index.php?page=basel_prog_programmebyday&basel_prog_programmebyday=program&program_id=188

9th International HL7 Interoperability Conference IHIC2008

2008-04-29T23:05:00.000+03:00

9th International HL7 Interoperability Conference
IHIC2008, 8-11 October, 2008, Chersonissos, Crete, Greece.

Deadline for submission of extended abstracts is April 30, 2008. Visit the website www.hl7.org.gr/ihic2008

Thematic Priorities

HL7 implementation experience from regional, transregional, or national implementation:
§ HL7 v2.x and 3.0 messages
§ Clinical Document Architecture (CDA)
§ ePrescription and eClaims
§ Collaborative use of standards, HL7 in IHE profiles
§ Terminologies, ontologies and Coding Systems
· Business Models for reimbursement & large scale deployment:
§ Global initiatives beyond HIPPA and the European Health Insurance Card (eHIC)
§ Electronic Healthcare Record: from strategy to implementation.
§ Knowledge deployment processes for education, certification
§ Legal and regulatory issues.
· HL7 standards for Security, Confidentiality and Trust.
· Beyond HL7 messages and documents. - Challenges ahead
· HL7 in consumer health:
§ HL7 v3 for Personal health records and health plans
§ environmental health and personalized health early warning (e.g. pollution, allergies)
§ HL7 CDA for Personal health devices, smart appliances, health cards
· HL7 in population health and decision support
§ epidemiology, disease surveillance and control
§ geographical information systems for population health
§ disaster medicine, emergency management and public health
§ clinical genomics and family history

IHE Workshop Program

Thursday October 9, 2008, 8:30-15:00

Integrating the Health Enterpise (IHE) Orientation Workshop

(preliminary program)

Charles Parisot, Eric Poiseau

8:30-10:30 The IHE Standards Adoption Process: achieving practical interoperability

From Standards to IHE Profiles, closing the compatibility gaps

- regional and national health information exchange projects: connecting care

- integrated hospital (radiology, laboratory, cardiology, pathology, etc.)

10:30 – 11:00 Coffee Break

11:00-12:30 Users and Vendors working together: how can I contribute & influence IHE

- role of national IHE, IHE-Europe, IHE International and Domain Committees

From IHE Profiles to conformance testing, closing the implementation gap

- Helping the implementers, testing tools, connectathons

12:30 – 13:30 Lunch Break

13:30-15:00 How to use IHE resources: hands on experience

- technical Frameworks: navigating, Q&A

- test tools: finding, using, configuring

- participating in the testing process

Source

http://www.hl7.org.gr/ihic2008/default.htm

IHE Europe Pharmacy meeting in Brussels

2008-04-02T22:15:00.006+03:00

IHE is an initiative by healthcare professionals and industry to improve the way computer systems in healthcare share information.

Systems that support IHE Integration Profiles interoperate better, are easier to implement, and help care providers use information more effectively. The goal is efficient delivery of optimal patient care. Several hundred products support one or more IHE Profiles.

Integration Profiles describe clinical information management use cases and specify how to use existing standards (HL7, DICOM, etc,...) to address them. Systems that implement integration profiles solve interoperability problems.

* For equipment vendors, Integration Profiles are implementation guides.
* For healthcare providers, Integration Profiles are a shorthand for integration requirements in purchasing documents.

IHE is organized into Domains which each address problems in one area of healthcare.

This March 17th 2008 in Brussels there were 17 participants for the 2nd IHE Europe Pharmacy meeting.

There is a detailed post by Simon Letellier in Informatique Médicale,TIC & Pharmacie (http://simonletellier.blogspot.com/2008/03/2nd-ihe-europe-pharmacy-meeting.html), where you can be informed for all the details concerning this second meeting of the pharmacy group.

Sources

http://www.ihe.net/

http://wiki.ihe.net/index.php?title=EPharmacy_Workshop_17_March_2008-Minutes

http://simonletellier.blogspot.com/2008/03/2nd-ihe-europe-pharmacy-meeting.html

1 Comment:

Simon Letellier said...: Dear Leonidas,

Just notice that my post is a "live post", notes taken during the meeting, so they are not easy reading.
Many thanks to provide this great and clear introduction! ;-); Thursday, April 03, 2008 12:36:00 PM

Abstract submissions for the ISPOR 11th Annual European Congress, Athens, Greece

2008-03-27T22:14:00.000+02:00

Abstract submissions are invited for the ISPOR 11th Annual European Congress at the Hilton Athens, Athens, Greece to be held 8-11 November 2008. The deadline for submissions is 23 June 2008.

RESEARCH ABSTRACTS

Outcomes research on all health care interventions (including drugs, devices, behavioral modification programs, surgery, disease prevention, gene therapy, screening, diagnostic procedures, health education) on all disease or health disorders are considered.

Research Topics:

*Clinical Outcomes Studies
*Cost Studies
*Patient-Reported Outcomes Studies
*Health Care Use & Policy Studies
*Conceptual Papers & Research on Methods

For more information and to submit research abstracts, visit:

http://www.ispor.org/congresses/Greece1108/SubmissionResearch.asp

Highlights from the 13th Congress of the European Association of Hospital Pharmacists in Maastricht, Netherlands

2008-03-02T12:43:00.003+02:00

The 13th Paneuropean Congress of European Association of Hospital Pharmacists, organised in Maastricht 27-29 February 2008, was completed with a great success.

The program had a lot of seminars, conferences and posters presentations. Here you can find some photographic snapshots from the congress (you can click onto photos to see in big size) and the titles of seminars and conferences.

Keynote Presentations

'The role and added value of the hospital pharmacist in health care: beyond Napoleon’s buttons’, Professor Hubert G. Leufkens, Utrecht Institute for Pharmaceutical Sciences (UIPS) and the Dutch Medicines Evaluation Board (MEB), The Netherlands
‘The importance of the hospital Pharmacist as a member of the clinical pharmaceutic team’ Professor Lars Heslet, National University Hospital, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark
‘The Role and added value of the hospital pharmacist in improving the safety of medicines in health care’ Mr Donald Hughes, Conway & Denbighshire NHS Trust, Rhyl, United Kingdom

Seminars

1: Handling gene therapy drugs in Europe
Speaker A: Dr Nicola Stoner, Cancer Research UK, Oxford, UK
Speaker B: Dr Andras Vermes, Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam,The Netherlands
2: Hospital pharmacies make medicines available
Speaker A: Mr Reinout Schellekens, University Medical Centre Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
Speaker B: Professor Jan Raaijmakers, GlaxoSmithKline / Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
3: Pharmacovigilance: added value of hospital pharmacists
Speaker A: Dr Kees van Grootheest, Dutch Pharmacovigilance Centre LAREB, ’s-Hertogenbosch, The Netherlands
Speaker B: Professor Gordon Schiff, Cook County Hospital, Chilcago, IL, USA
4: Measuring the added value of hospital pharmacy processes
Speaker A: Dr Antonio Melo Gouveia, National Oncology Institute, Lisbon, Portugal
Speaker B: Dr Marianne Ivey, The Health Alliance, Cincinnati OH, USA
Speaker C: Pieter Knoester, Rijnland Ziekenhuis, Leiderdorp, The Netherlands

5: The value of the hospital pharmacist in the preparation and distribution of radiopharmaceuticals
Speaker A: Professor Per Hartvig, Copenhagen University, Copenhagen, Denmark
Speaker B: Dr Alistair Millar, The Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
6: The role of the hospital pharmacist in psychiatry
Speaker A: Dawn Price, Northumberland Tyne and Wear NHS Trust, Cherry Knowle Hospital Ryhope, Sunderland, UK
Speaker B: Elisabeth Eide, Haukeland Hospital Pharmacy, Bergen, Norway
Speaker C: Hans Mulder, Wilhelmina Hospital, Assen, The Netherlands
Speaker D: Francisco Martínez-Granados, Alicante General Hospital, Alicante, Spain

7: The value of the hospital pharmacist in pediatric care
Speaker A: Mrs Rowena McArtney, University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff, United Kingdom
Speaker B: Mrs Nathalie Seigneuret, Paediatric Medicines and Orphan Drugs Sector, Pre-authorisation Evaluation of Medicines for Human Use Unit, London, United Kingdom
8: Patient safety in Europe
Speaker A: Dr Susan Proulx, Med-E.R.R.S., Huntington Valley PA, USA
Speaker B: Mr Brian Bjørn, Hvidovre Hospital, Capital Region, Copenhagen, Denmark
9: The value of the hospital pharmacist in the prescribing process
Speaker A: René Groulsch, Catharina Hospital, Eindhoven, The Netherlands
Speaker B: Nicola Wake, Nicola Wake, Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, Tyne & Wear, United Kingdom

10: IT systems for the use of the hospital pharmacy: a showcase
Speaker A: Dr Frits Elferink, Royal Dutch Association for the advancement of Pharmacy, The Hague, The Netherlands
Speaker B: Jenneke Wijbenga, Royal Dutch Association for the Advancement of Pharmacy, The Hague, The Netherlands
Speaker C: Dr Mirjam Rommers, Leiden University Hospital, Leiden, The Netherlands
Speaker D: Mr Jan Bruin, National IT Institute for Healthcare in the Netherlands (NICTIZ, The Hague, The Netherlands
11: National delegates seminar: e-Health solutions in hospital pharmacy
Speaker A: Mrs Inger Bjeldbak-Olesen, Hospital Pharmcy Roskilde, Denmark
Speaker B: Professor Ann Jacklin, Hammersmith Hospitals NHS Trust, UK
12: Collaboration and standards for small hospital pharmacies
Speaker A: Dr Marie Rancakova, Czech Republic
Speaker B: Mrs Gitte Søndergaard Nielsen, Næstved Hospital Pharmacy, Næstved

Satellite Symposia

1: Breaking new grounds in i.v, iron Therapy, VIFOR INTERNATIONAL
2: Drug-Eluting Beads: A new therapy for Hepatic Tumours. Clinical and Pharmaceutical assessment, BIOCOMPATIBLES/TERUMO
3: Quality and safety in pharmaceutical preparation of cytotoxic drugs, BERNER
4: Biogenerics: from promise to reality in Europe, TEVA
5: SafeChemo: ePrescription and Automation for a Safe Management of Cytostatics, B.BRAUN
6: Navigating Risk Management, IDIS
7: GMP Compliant Qualified Software in the Hospital Pharmacy – Supplier Supported Software Validation in Practice, CATO SOFTWARE SOLUTIONS
8: The biopharmaceuticals revolution: latest advances and challenges for hospital pharmacists, AMGEN
9: Round table: Biosimilars in clinical practice – The challenges for Hospital Pharmacists, AMGEN

Stabilis, the database of stabilities and compatibilities of injectable drugs

2008-02-19T08:09:00.002+02:00

Infostab is a non-profit making association under French law. The goal of the association is to promote the correct use of injectable drugs in hospital (preparation, administration, stability and compatibility).

The association publishes an international database of stabilities and compatibilities of injectable drugs, STABILIS, which is translated into 24 languages.

The Web site is mainly directed towards the aspects of stability and compatibility of injectable drugs with topical information, lists of publications and posters as well as links towards guidelines concerning stability studies, the sites of other databases or journals publishing on the subject.

Our congratulations to Dr Jean Vigneron and his colleagues for the great job!

Sources

Infostab

STABILIS

1 Comment:

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European Association of Faculties of Pharmacy: 2008 Annual Conference

2008-02-18T19:19:00.004+02:00

European Association of Faculties of Pharmacy
2008 Annual Conference :

New issues in Pharmacy Education

Lille
June 12-14, 2008

Faculté des Sciences Pharmaceutiques et Biologiques
3, rue du Professeur Laguesse
BP 83 - 59006 Lille cedex
France

WELCOME

The Faculty of Pharmacy of Lille and the European Association of Faculties of Pharmacy (EAFP) have the great honour and joy of inviting you to the annual conference, in Lille, France, 12th - 14th June 2008.

The theme of the conference is « New issues in Pharmacy Education ». Plenary lectures and workshops will be held to discuss different aspects of training for pharmacy practice. The adaptation of Bologna process to Pharmacy education, the use of new teaching technologies and new learning methods, allowing patient-focused training, ending with practitioner validation.

Faculty members, pharmacy students, and members of pharmaceutical institutions are invited to participate in the conference and to contribute to the discussions, strengthening the links and partnerships for pharmacy education. The Members of the Local Organizing Committee will do their utmost to make the conference and your stay in Lille an enjoyable and inspirational experience.

Lille, European Capital of Culture in 2004, Capital of Nord/Pas de Calais Region, is renowned for its architectural wealth from Baroque to Flemish style. Lille is also proud of its festive traditions (such as the Braderie, a giant jumble sale…) and its gastronomy (potjevleesch, Genièvre…). It still has a human dimension owing to the spirit of generosity and warmth of the Northerners. This in itself attracts tourists who explore Lille and its surrounding areas and towns, some rich with a history of trade and industry, and others with a cultural and festive tradition. Let yourself and accompanying persons be tempted and head out to explore these exceptional sites and districts of which we Northerners are so proud !
We wish you a most hearty welcome to Lille.

Professor Daniel Vion,

Dean of the Faculty of Pharmacy,
Lille 2 University of Health and Law

For further information : Annie.Marcincal@univ-lille2.fr

European Journal of Oncology Pharmacy, Volume 2, 2008/Issue 1

2008-02-01T17:35:00.000+02:00

The Official Journal of the European Society of Oncology Pharmacy (http://www.esop.li/index.php) is ready for downloading in .pdf format

(European Journal of Oncology Pharmacy, Volume 2, 2008/Issue 1).

Contents:

Because there is a need
New approaches, new treatments
Pictures of life beyond cancer
Dasatinib in the treatment of chronic myeloid leukaemia
Spillages and occupational exposure to cytotoxic drugs in an oncology centre
Glucarpidase: a method of rescue from high dose methotrexate
Psychological support of quality of life in cancer patients
Combined radiochemotherapy – the state of the art
Supportive care: nutrition problems, alopecia and mucositis
Dispensing of oral chemotherapy in the community: a viability assessment in the UK
Current thinking in antifungal prophylaxis
A good standard of contributions at the SFPO
Highlights of the NZW-Süd oncology meeting in Ravensburg, Germany
8th Annual meeting of Polish oncology pharmacists
Greek pharmacists visit the Bank of Cyprus Oncology Centre

European Academy of Hospital Pharmacy (EurAHP): http://www.eurahp.eu/

2008-01-15T16:28:00.000+02:00

The website of the European Academy of Hospital Pharmacy (EurAHP) is on the air!

The European Academy of Hospital Pharmacy (EurAHP) is the educational institution of the European Association of Hospital Pharmacists (EAHP). With 21,000 members in 28 countries, EAHP has set up EurAHP to offer European hospital pharmacists:

* A pan-European system of continuing medical education (CME) accreditation
* Accredited modular courses for hospital pharmacists in four key areas (the BEAM initiative):

o Biotechnology
o Evidence-based medicine
o Aspects of compounding
o Management

EurAHP’s mission is to 'strive for excellence in continuing medical education' for the pharmacy profession. In order to achieve this EurAHP has set up two initiatives:

Continuing Professional Development (CPD): EurAHP can offer accreditation for hospital pharmacy educational meetings via Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE). With a heritage going back to 1932, this organization provides the US standard for accreditation of pharmacy education and serves as an excellent model and starting point for future pan-European accreditation.

For more information please visit the address: http://www.eurahp.eu/

Congresses for Hospital Pharmacists during 2008

2008-01-05T08:52:00.000+02:00

Here are our proposals for the congresses during the year 2008!

ESOP European Society for Oncology Pharmacists
http://www.esop.li/futureevents.php
25 January 2008 - 27. January 2008, Hamburg, The Netherlands

EAHP European Association of Hospital Pharmacists
http://www.eahponline.com/asp/congress.asp?m=5
13th Congress of the EAHP
27 - 29 February 2008, Maastricht, the Netherlands

ESCP European Society of Clinical Pharmacy
http://www.escp-oncology.be/
International workshop ‘the Oncological Patient and the Clinical Pharmacist’, 26-28 May 2008, University Hospital ‘Gasthuisberg’, Leuven, Belgium

ISPOR International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research
http://www.ispor.org/Events/Index.aspx?eventId=27
11th Annual European Congress, 8-11 November 2008, Hilton hotel, Athens, Greece

FIP International Pharmaceutical Federation
http://www.fip.org/CONGRESS/basel2008/
World Congress of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences 2008
68th International Congress of FIP
29 August until 4 September 2008, Basel, Switzerland

Merry Christmas!

2007-12-23T11:39:00.000+02:00

+
XXX
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"BUON ANNO"
"JOYEUX NOEL"
"VESELE VANOCE"
"MELE KALIKIMAKA"
"NODLAG SONA DHUIT"
"BLWYDDYN NEWYDD DDA"
"GOD JUL"
"FELIZ NATAL"
"BOAS FESTAS"
"FELIZ NAVIDAD"
"MERRY CHRISTMAS"
"KALA CHRISTOUGENA"
"VROLIJK KERSTFEEST"
"FROHLICHE WEIHNACHTEN"
"BUON NATALE-GODT NYTAR"
"HUAN YING SHENG TAN CHIEH"
"WESOLYCH SWIAT-SRETAN BOZIC"
"MOADIM LESIMHA-LINKSMU KALEDU"
"HAUSKAA JOULUA-AID SAID MOUBARK"
"'N PRETTIG KERSTMIS"
"ONNZLLISTA UUTTA VUOTTA"
"Z ROZHDESTYOM KHRYSTOVYM"
"NADOLIG LLAWEN-GOTT NYTTSAR"
"FELIC NADAL-GOJAN KRISTNASKON"
"S NOVYM GODOM-FELIZ ANO NUEVO"
"GLEDILEG JOL-NOELINIZ KUTLU OLSUM"
"EEN GELUKKIG NIEUWJAAR-SRETAN BOSIC"
"KRIHSTLINDJA GEZUAR-KALA CHRISTOUGENA"
"SELAMAT HARI NATAL - LAHNINGU NAJU METU"
"SARBATORI FERICITE-BUON ANNO"
"ZORIONEKO GABON-HRISTOS SE RODI"
"BOLDOG KARACSONNY-VESELE VIANOCE "
"MERRY CHRISTMAS - - HAPPY NEW YEAR"
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"FELICES PASUAS-EIN GLUCKICHES NEWJAHR"
"PRIECIGUS ZIEMAN SVETKUS SARBATORI VESLLE"
"BONNE ANNEBLWYDDYN NEWYDD DDADRFELIZ NATAL"
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Germany - The Electronic Health Card

2007-12-11T23:13:00.000+02:00

With the introduction of the new card approx. 80 million people with statutory and private health insurance, 21,000 pharmacists, 123,000 registered doctors, 65,000 dentists, 2,200 hospitals as well as the private and statutory health insurance providers will be connected to each other. A project on this scale is unique in Europe and represents an enormous technical and organisational challenge. That is why the Electronic Health Card will not be able to do everything from the outset. It will be gradually expanded with new functions.

The new Electronic Health Card can do much more: whereas the old Health Insurance Card only had a simple memory chip, the new Electronic Health Card contains a microprocessor chip. This chip is programmable and can execute many different tasks.

For example, prescriptions will no longer be issued on paper in future. They will be made available to you in electronic form with the help of the card.

In addition, you can have personal health data saved using the card. For example, this can be basic medical data for emergency care or documentation of medication taken to inform the doctor or pharmacist treating the patient.

Protection of the data is clearly regulated by means of a comprehensive security concept. An encryption process ensures that information saved about you is always protected against unauthorised access. Furthermore, sensitive health data can be accessed only in conjunction with an electronic Health Professional Card. This is a personal card for doctors, dentists, pharmacists and other personnel with authorised access, for example.

The Electronic Health Card is an important step in the modernisation of health systems; it contains many chances and opportunities. This brochure is designed to give a first overview.

Download:

"The Electronic Health Card" (.pdf, 294 KB, English version)
"The Electronic Health Card" (.pdf, 350 KB, German version)
"The Electronic Health Card" (.pdf, 303 KB, French version)

Published by: Federal Ministry of Health, Public Relations Section, 11055 Berlin, Germany

For further information, please visit:

http://www.die-gesundheitskarte.de

Sources

http://www.ehealthnews.eu/content/view/835/62/

http://www.eahp.eu/asp/monitor_news_detail.asp?ID=110&m=11

Hospital Pharmacist Conference 2008

2007-11-17T19:44:00.000+02:00

Hospital Pharmacy Conference 2008 "New directions for pharmacy"

Thursday 31 January 2008

Royal Pharmaceutical Society
1 Lambeth High Street
London
SE1 7JN

Contact
Emma Kerby-Evans
+44 (0)20 7572 2414
email: emma.kerby-evans@pharmj.org.uk

Exhibition/sponsorship
Stuart Thomas
+44 (0)20 7572 2224
email: stuart.thomas@rpsgb.org

Source

http://www.pjonline.com/reports/hp/index.html

The European Association of Hospital Pharmacists (EAHP) Guidance for the Handling of Gene Medicines

2007-10-31T21:49:00.000+02:00

A new issue of our favorite journal is out there for us all to read. The EJHP European Journal of Hospital Pharmacy - Practice and the EJHP European Journal of Hospital Pharmacy - Science. The section we like more, the country focus, is dedicated to Sweden (Country focus: Hospital Pharmacy in Sweden).

THE HEALTHCARE SYSTEM IN SWEDEN
CLINICAL PHARMACY IN SWEDEN
APODOS: THE SWEDISH MODEL OF MULTI-DOSE
INTERVIEW WITH JOAKIM PETTERSSON, POLITICAL ADVISER AT THE SWEDISH MINISTRY OF HEALTH AND SOCIAL AFFAIRS

We think that the the European Association of Hospital Pharmacists (EAHP) guidance for the handling of gene medicines, is very important and an article published once in a decade. We must translate this guide to all the languages of the European Union!

Congradulations to the authors (Arnold G Vulto, PharmD, PhD; Nicola Stoner, BSc (Hons), MRPharmS, Dip Clin Pharm, PhD; Hana Balásová, PharmD; Ana-Cristina Cercos, PharmD, PhD; Torsten Hoppe-Tichy, PhD; Juan L Vinent Genestar, PharmD; Kirsi Kontra, PharmLic; Per Nydert, MScPharm8; András Vermes, PharmD, PhD; Andrea Wolfsberger, PharmD)

The article is here: http://www.eahp.eu/upload/ejhp/CoverStory29-39.pdf

Google says working to solve health record dilemma

2007-10-18T17:08:00.000+03:00

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Google Inc aims to apply Web search technology to a general set of health information problems and remains committed to the market despite slow initial progress, an executive said on Wednesday.

"We do have a broad interest in this area," Marissa Mayer, Google's vice president of Search Products & User Experience, told Internet industry leaders at the Web 2.0 Summit in San Francisco. "It will start with search."

Mayer said engineers stumbled onto Google's potential role in the field by noticing the number of searches users perform with its Web search services for hard-to-diagnose health problems, often simply by typing symptoms into a Web browser.

"Google is not a doctor, but people come to us with a lot of health information searches," Mayer told the audience of several hundred executives, financiers and writers. "There is a big user information need, which we should ultimately fill."

Source

For more info: REUTERS
Thu Oct 18, 2007 8:48am EDT, By Eric Auchard

Join the energy revolution!

2007-10-15T09:32:00.000+03:00

Renewing the UK National Health System

2007-10-11T19:32:00.000+03:00

The UK has launched a review of the National Health Service (NHS) to examine the impact of technology and lifestyle choices on the nation's well-being and to make the system more fair, personal and effective.

Launching the review, UK Premier Gordon Brown also announced the creation of a new health innovation fund.

"Our vision...is an NHS that not only provides a personal service that is organised around the needs of the patients but one that is pioneering new cures for the future. Renewing the NHS is my most immediate priority in the job that I hold,'' said UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown as he launched a reportexternal setting out the Government's vision for the country's future health service.

The interim report, NHS next stage review external , published on 4 October 2007, sets out a 10-year vision for the British health service. The report looks at how the NHS can become fairer, more personalised, effective and safe and sets out actions that should be taken to make progress towards that vision. "This interim report is the start of developing this vision for the next ten years," said Lord Darzi, author of the report.

Led by the new health minister, Lord Ara Darzi, the review will examine the impact of technology and lifestyle choices on the nation's well-being, and will look to make the NHS more responsive and better able to serve the needs of the public. The final part of the review setting out how the vision can be delivered will be published in spring 2008.

Source

http://www.euractiv.com/en/health/uk-rethinks-national-health-service/article-167392

The Impact of Technology on Healthcare Delivery

2007-09-12T22:55:00.000+03:00

The World of Health IT Conference will take place October 22-25 in the Austria Center, Vienna, Austria.

The electronic version of the World of Health IT Conference, Exhibition & Networking Programme can be viewed online or downloaded here.

The event is designed by and for healthcare professionals involved in the everyday application, management and advancement of healthcare IT across Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

For group registrations please contact:

Tina Luke
Tel: +1.312.915.9516
cluke@himss.org

Jaime Paton
Tel: +1.312.915.9214
jpaton@himss.org

Source

http://www.worldofhealthit.org/

European Hospital Pharmacy Blog

World Cancer Day 2012: EAHP and ESOP issue joint call for pharmacist development to advance cancer care

Press release: WORLD CANCER DAY 2012

European Association of Hospital Pharmacists (EAHP) celebrates 40 years

Message of the President

Merry Christmas!

European Medicines Agency (EMA) formalises interaction with healthcare professionals

The European Association of Hospital Pharmacists (EAHP) announces new publisher for the European Journal of Hospital Pharmacy

Connectathon 2012 to be held in Bern, Switzerland

The European Journal of Hospital Pharmacy: Science and Practice

Strategy to Better Protect Public Health by Strengthening and Rationalising EU Pharmacovigilance

Who Owns Patient Data?

Guidelines for Good Pharmaceutical Practice from FIP and WHO

GPP update 2009-2010

Previous Documents:

Developing Pharmacy Practice

eHealth survey shows most hospitals online but telemedicine services not fully deployed

Highlights from the 2011 Connectathon in Pisa

Interested in Hospital Benchmarking across Europe?

Call for articles for the first issue of the International Pharmacy Journal 2011

DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION IS 15th APRIL 2010.

European Parliament to streamline prescription drug supply

Patients' Rights in Cross-Border Healthcare

Rare Disease Day 2011: Focus health inequalities

Merry Christmas!

European Strategy for Chronic Conditions – Second Workshop

The European Single Market –what’s in it for Hospital Pharmacists?

ECDC publishes data on hepatitis B and C surveillance and prevention in Europe

European Commission Publishes Eurobarometer on Mental Health

16th Congress of the European Association of Hospital Pharmacists: online abstract submission is now open

European Medicines Agency launches new website

WEBICINA: the new, free aggregator of quality medical information

Pictogram Project by MEPS

EAHP survey on status of hospital pharmacy specialisation in the Europe

ICT 2010 conference Europe's most visible forum for ICT research and innovation

French and European workshop during 10th Connectathon, Bordeaux 13-14 April 2010

Discover the European emergency number - 112

The socio-economic impact of interoperable electronic health record (EHR) and ePrescribing systems in Europe and beyond

Connectathon goes to France

Merry Christmas!

EuroPharm Forum Observatory, knowledge and search facility for pharmacy practice

Discussions on pharmacy practice

Pharmacy Practice Documents

EuroPharm Forum Practice Domains

Evidence-based Pharmacy Practice

Pharmacy Practice Events

SanAntonioPHARMA project by the European Fellowship for pharmacists

New website for health promotion videos launched

Information on the benefits of immunization against diseases

3rd Master Class in Oncology Pharmacy Practise

A Hospital Pharmacist is elected Co-Chair for Users to IHE-Europe

38th European Symposium on Clinical Pharmacy

Common European Drug Database (CEDD) project

Tony West received the 2009 Guild of Healthcare Pharmacists (GHP) gold medal

War on hospital bugs

Contact

Constanze BECKERHOFF

Richard FREEDMAN

Further information :

European Association of Hospital Pharmacists in Second Life

Highlights from the 14th Congress of the European Association of Hospital Pharmacists in Barcelona, Spain

IHE (Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise) Pharmacy domain is created

Concerns expressed over Spice in European countries

The White Paper for Hospital Pharmacy and Community Pharmacy is available for Public Comment

Three legislative proposals from the European Commission for safe, innovative and accessible medicines

Congresses for Hospital Pharmacists during 2009

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

The European Commission adopted a Green Paper on the EU workforce for health

President of EAHP, Jacqueline Surugue, honoured with esteemed Donald E. Francke Medal

Medication safety check online

Annual report 2008 from the European Union Drugs Agency

Latest on the drugs problem across Europe

New Commission initiative on patients' rights in cross-border healthcare

Statements of the Global Conference on the future of hospital Pharmacy FIP Basel 2008

Highlights from the Global Conference on the Future of Hospital Pharmacy

Congress for Parenteral Nutrition and Metabolism, ESPEN 2008

PPRI report on pharmaceutical pricing and reimbursement policies

Deregulation of the Swedish Pharmacy system

Commission v Spain on access to hospital pharmacy practice

Global Conference on the Future of Hospital Pharmacy, FIP, Basel 2008