Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

+
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"
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Best wishes for Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Monday, December 22, 2008

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


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

Friday, December 12, 2008

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


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

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Medication safety check online


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/

Saturday, November 01, 2008

Annual report 2008 from the European Union Drugs Agency

Latest on the drugs problem across Europe

Annual report 2008 from the European Union Drugs Agency


(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 overviewsproviding 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 packdownloadable 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


Monday, October 20, 2008

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


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

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

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


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


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

Monday, August 25, 2008

Congress for Parenteral Nutrition and Metabolism, ESPEN 2008



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/

Wednesday, August 06, 2008

PPRI report on pharmaceutical pricing and reimbursement policies


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/

Sunday, July 27, 2008

Deregulation of the Swedish Pharmacy system


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

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Commission v Spain on access to hospital pharmacy practice


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

Sunday, May 04, 2008

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


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

Tuesday, April 29, 2008

9th International HL7 Interoperability Conference IHIC2008


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

IHEIntegrating 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

Wednesday, April 02, 2008

IHE Europe Pharmacy meeting in Brussels


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:

Blogger 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

Thursday, March 27, 2008

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


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

Sunday, March 02, 2008

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


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
  1. '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
  2. The importance of the hospital Pharmacist as a member of the clinical pharmaceutic team’ Professor Lars Heslet, National University Hospital, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark
  3. 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

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Stabilis, the database of stabilities and compatibilities of injectable drugs


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:

assisted conceptoin in greece said...

Thanks for nice post. This type of programs must be started by UN world wide. It will be great work for humanity. Appreciation for those who are doing this.

Saturday, March 15, 2008 11:27:00 AM

Monday, February 18, 2008

European Association of Faculties of Pharmacy: 2008 Annual Conference


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