Merry Christmas!

We wish you Merry Christmas ...

and all the happiness you could wish for..!

European Strategy for Chronic Conditions – Second Workshop

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?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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