EAHP EU Monitor 12 February 2013

 

The EAHP EU Monitor is a weekly round up of news relevant to hospital pharmacy in Europe.

You can subscribe to the EAHP EU Monitor here.

 

One week left to share your experience of medicines shortages!

The European Association of Hospital Pharmacists (EAHP) reminds its members that there is just one week remaining for hospital pharmacists in practice across Europe to share their experiences of medicines shortages via the current EAHP survey links.

The surveys, launched in the Autumn of 2012, seek responses in relation to both the prevalence of, and the impact upon patient care caused by, shortage problems, and will close at the end of Tuesday 19 February 2013.

Encouraging hospital pharmacy colleagues from across Europe to take part, EAHP President Dr Roberto Frontini said:

“In my time as EAHP President I have heard increasingly concerning reports of the problem of medicines shortages, the increasing time hospital pharmacists must spend seeking to source supply, and the potential impacts this can have on the delivery of patient care. EAHP now wants to compile verifiable evidence of the hospital pharmacist experience of the problem through two short focused surveys.

I hope all hospital pharmacists will have the five minutes required to contribute their experience of medicines shortage difficulties. We also encourage the return of open comments around the issue as all of these are read, taken note of and will be reflected in the final dissemination.

After closing the survey next week, it is our intention to present the results to industry, the European Commission, the European Medicines Agency and other stakeholders to assist their understanding and help to guide their decision-making on how to resolve the problems.”

The survey examining the prevalence of the medicines shortage problem is available to respond to here:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/HK5L839

The survey seeking information on the patient impacts of medicines shortages is available to respond to here:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/PNBNMTK
 

European Parliament adopts report on medicines pricing transparency 

Members of the European Parliament have given their support for a 60-day time limit for national authorities to decide on the pricing and reimbursement of generic medicines, in order to speed up their availability and save money for patients and social security systems. 

Decisions concerning new medicines will have to respect the current deadline of 180 days. The Parliament’s report also indicates that national authorities should be required to publish the list of the medicinal products covered by their public health insurance system and their prices at least once a year.

The current European legislative subject file on medicines pricing transparency is designed to be an update of an existing Directive from 1989. However, national governments have so far given a less than enthusiastic response to the proposals, with many countries considering that the requirements infringe the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality.

Negotiations between Governments, the European Parliament and the Commission will continue on the issue.

Report here.

Press release of Antonyia Parvanova (NMSP Bulgaria), the Parliament’s lead rapporteur on the subject, here

EJHP: clinical decision support systems 

The online first version of the European Journal of Hospital Pharmacy recently published an original research article from the Netherlands on a strategy for development and pre-implementation validation of effective clinical decision support.

The Clinical decision support systems (CDSS) are defined as ‘computer-based information systems used to integrate clinical and patient information to provide support for decision-making in patient care’.

Full article here. 
 

18th Congress of the EAHP: Preview of Medication Reconciliation Seminar

In a special congress preview, session facilitator Dr. Teresa Bermejo Vicedo helps to indicate some of the likely themes of the operational seminar on medication reconciliation.

Preview of seminar here.

Seminar abstract here.

This year’s Congress has the overall theme “Improving patient outcomes: a shared responsibility”

Registration information here.

Information on the Scientific Programme here.