EAHP and GS1 publish report of UZ Leuven meeting on bedside scanning and medicines bar coding

On 14 October 2013, EAHP, together with UZ Leuven and GS1, brought together stakeholders from across the health sector spectrum: doctors' groups, nurses' groups, patient groups, representatives of the pharmacy profession, representatives of the pharmaceutical industry, and representatives of the technology, IT and health management sectors, at a one-off event to explore how to make bedside scanning in Europe a reality. Attendee list here.

Held at UZ Leuven, the event included presentations from:

• Thomas De Rijdt from UZ Leuven's Hospital Pharmacy Department on the application of bedside scanning at the hospital and its benefits for patient safety and the avoidance of medicine administration error (presentation here, video here);
• Chris Dierickx from Pfizer on the manufacturing considerations when bar coding medicines to the single unit (presentation here); and,
• Ulrike Kreysa from GS1 Healthcare on the issue of barcode standards, and the opportunities provided by the new GS1 Level Below the Each (LBE) standard (presentation here, video here). 

The day also included a tour of the hospital wards to see bedside scanning technology applied in practice, and afternoon workshops at which stakeholders discussed in depth how the barriers to implementing bedside scanning more widely across Europe could be overcome. Workshop questions here.

The day ended with the presentation of findings and conclusions by the workshops, and reflection on next steps. Key conclusions were:

• Efforts towards achieving systematic bar coding of medicines to the single unit package in Europe must be better coordinated. This should bring in not only hospital pharmacy and the pharmaceutical industry, but also representatives of the packaging, software, IT and equipment industries, hospital and health system management, health insurers, and the nursing and medical professions.
• This coalition for medication safety should set out one detailed requirement in respect of the requirements of single unit package bar coding, taking into account static data versus variable data.
• This coalition should also look at the possibility of a step-by-step timetable for realising single unit package bar coding and give thought to constructing the timetable according to categories of medicine, whereby orphan drugs could be viewed as step 1, followed by high risk medication.
• Remaining opportunities to utilise the national implementation of the Falsified Medicines Directive should be explored.

Below you can find the formal report of the meeting, films of the presentations and links to many other relevant fields of information, including the participant list, agenda, reading materials and photo gallery.

FULL REPORT OF LEUVEN MEETING ON BEDSIDE SCANNING

For the presentations, etc : here

Source

EAHP

Safe Transition of Care. The Clinical Pharmacy Approach

ESCP – European Society of Clinical Pharmacy – and SIFO – Italian Society of Hospital Pharmacists and Territorial Pharmacy Services – organizes the International Workshop on Clinical Pharmacy in Palermo, Italy (May 22nd - 23rd,2014). 

The theme of the workshop is: "SAFE TRANSITION OF PHARMACOTHERAPY - THE CLINICAL PHARMACY APPROACH" 

The European health services must ensure the healthcare, but above all the quality of provided medical care, that is accessibility, appropriateness, competence, continuity and efficacy. This becomes possible if there is a comparison between the different experiences, resulting in introduction of changes in consolidated care delivery and with results verification. 

The International Workshop will provide a variety of plenary lectures alternating with workshop on different themes related to therapy and patient safety. 

The topics of the plenary lectures will be: 

• transplants therapy, 
• cancer therapy, 
• medication reconciliation and patient safety and 
• patient adherence

The workshop will take place at the Grande Hotels des Palmes, a unique and historical venue with a charming atmosphere. The congress venue is near the city centre where a bus line service can reach tourist areas and rich in history. 

Important Dates and Deadlines:

Abstract submission opening: 15 December 2013;

Abstract submission deadline: 5 March 2014;

Registration opening: 15 December 2013;

Early bird registration deadline: 1 March 2014;

Early bird registration deadline for accepted abstract submitters: 20 April 2014.

The number of participants will be limited to 135.

Only abstracts related to the theme will be considered for review.

Important links:

Registration and Information

Flyer

Preliminary Programme

General Information

Source

ESCP

Conference on mHealth and cancer care

Even if there is no univocal definition of mobile health (or mhealth), the most common and diffused definition is the one of WHO, which defines mhealth as “medical and public health practice supported by mobile devices, such as mobile phones, patient monitoring devices, personal digital assistants (PDAs), and other wireless devices” (WHO Global Observatory for eHealth, 2011). 

By allowing remote monitoring, mhealth encourages elderly and ill citizens to live at home rather than in a nursing home or hospital, improving their quality of life. It enhances collaboration and information sharing among clinicians, who have better communication with patients and are better informed of their conditions. 

Moreover mhealth increases timely detection and faster treatment of severe symptoms, avoiding complications and preventing readmissions. This is particularly relevant in cancer supportive care, which aims at relieving and improving the quality of life of the patients and their carers by serving as a bridge between the standard biomedical approach to medical care and the non-medical aspects of a patient’s healing, their families and their caregivers. 

Cancer supportive care tries to ensure that patient’s needs are addressed by making sure that the patient’s pain and other physical symptoms are managed. Supportive care should also aim at providing accurate information for helping patients and their carers understand the side effects of chemotherapy and giving patients and their family the opportunity to participate in the decision making of the pathway of care. 

The conference will cover the following areas: international experiences of mobile health in cancer supportive care; the potential of mobile health for improving the quality and safety of patient care, the experience of the patient and of the family; the implications for national policy and practice.

Source

ec.europa.eu

The 2nd European Health Literacy Conference

The 2nd European Health Literacy Conference takes place in Aarhus, Denmark 10 – 11 April, 2014. The conference is organised by Aarhus University, the European Health Literacy Consortium (HLS-EU) and Health Literacy Europe.

The 2^nd European Health Literacy Conference aims to promote health literate populations and societies by

• sharing evidence-based research on health literacy measurement, interventions and policies
• providing a platform for knowledge-exchange for professionals working in the field of health literacy in Europe stimulating wider collaboration
• providing a cross-sectorial, interdisciplinary approach to health literacy by creating opportunities for capacity building and professionalization in policy, research and practice.

The conference theme is Health literacy in populations and settings - developing the research base focusing on current European health literacy research and how it can be translated into policy and practice. The programme includes scientific presentations based on submitted abstracts to ensure insights in the newest developments concerning European health literacy.

Registration is open!

Source

http://www.healthliteracyeurope.net/

The LSE Summit: Risk Sharing and Managed Entry Agreements

Last few places available for the LSE Health Summit this Friday, where talks and discussions will cover the latest MEA and risk sharing developments and reflect on future prospects and policy options. Speakers from across Europe will explore lessons from implementing MEAs, stakeholder perspectives and how to improve decision making.

Programme Directors: Panos Kanavos, PhD and Alessandra Ferrario, MSc, MTRG and LSE Health, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Date: 14 February 2014, 9am-5pm

Venue: The Royal College of Surgeons, 35-43 Lincoln's Inn Fields, London WC2A 3PE, UK 
Source
LSE

What are we measuring in European Hospital Pharmacy?

As part of its Summit project to define the future of hospital pharmacy in Europe, EAHP has today launched a survey of senior pharmacists within hospitals to better understand what aspects of service are currently measured.

While EAHP is holding a Summit on the future of hospital pharmacy in May 2014, organisers are enthusiastic that the statements of practice agreed at the event are accompanied with an implementation framework. The Board of the EAHP therefore invited Dr David Cousins (Senior Head of Patient Safety within NHS England) to conduct a study of the current status of measurement within hospital pharmacy, and to make recommendations for the future.

The 15 minute survey opens today and will close at midnight on Friday 28th February 2014

Launching the survey, Dr Cousins said:

“How can we know if we are making improvement, unless we can quantify it with a scale of measurement? In today's modern world, providing tangible evidence is a question all professionals face, and hospital pharmacy is no exception. That's why this survey on metrics is important in terms of thinking about how hospital pharmacy reports what it is doing in the years to come. I hope EAHP members will take the opportunity to both tell us what they are doing in respect of measurement, but also express their opinions about where we go next. In that sense, the survey is more than a research exercise – its a chance to help shape the future.”

EAHP President Dr Roberto Frontini said:

“I am delighted Dr Cousins is undertaking this important research on behalf of the practice of hospital pharmacy within Europe. It builds on his work exploring potential indicators for the quality of pharmaceutical care.

I urge all colleagues in hospital pharmacy in Europe to assist by taking fifteen minutes to share what they are measuring in their hospital. We look forward to professional engagement in the study and sharing the results with the profession later this year.”

THE SURVEY IS AVAILABLE HERE

Source

EAHP