02 APRIL 2014

A major talking point of last week’s Congress of the EAHP in Barcelona was the future roles and competencies for hospital pharmacists in the year 2020 and beyond.  Drawing from the keynote speech of Dr. Roberto Frontini on Thursday 27th March, attendees debated the extent to which the future hospital pharmacist must more thoroughly adopt ‘social competencies’ in order to effectively communicate with increasingly health literate patients. 

On Wednesday 26th March, Prof. Daan Crommelin explored with Congress attendees the social drivers of innovation. He urged hospital pharmacists to understand the essential need for any profession to adopt innovation in order to survive, as well as the importance of maintaining open minds about adopting new technologies from other sectors. On the final day of Congress, Dr. Graham Walton investigated the problem of knowledge management in times of information overload. Whilst the problem is driven to a large degree by new technologies, coping strategies are available by putting in place effective working practices.

With the exception of the main auditorium, it was standing room only for many sessions, including the Synergy Satellite event on novel anticoagulants, and the topical seminar on drug shortages. The Synergy event, supported by an educational grant from Bayer Pharmaceuticals, examined how choices about oral anticoagulants can best be made. Synergy speaker Duncan McRobbie of Guy’s and St. Thomas hospitals (London) also took attendees through some of the primary patient compliance considerations in the area of anticoagulation treatment. 

At the drug shortages seminar, Dr Thomas Langebner reflected on the changes within the pharmaceutical sector that could be driving the growing problem. This included the expiry of major patents, increasing complexity of global medicines supply chains, failure of quality management, and the unintended consequences of cost containment measures. He made a personal call for the European Union to understand the urgency of the problem and to take steps to re-establish sustainable supply systems.

Attendees also packed the session room for the new Congress programme feature, ‘Good Practice Initiatives’(GPIs). A full house heard about noteworthy examples of practice improvements from the change-makers themselves, with opportunities provided to draw inspiration for the attendees’ return to their hospital setting. 

Speaking at the end of the week’s events, Congress organiser and EAHP Chief Operating Officer Jennie De Greef said:

“The hot topics covered, unique networking opportunities, and ever-growing programme of events continues to see the EAHP Congress broaden its international reach and attendance.  We depart Barcelona with a spring in our step and real momentum to reach new heights again in Hamburg in 2015. Finally, I want to express gratitude to all of EAHP’s sponsors and especially, Platinum partners Amgen and Bayer, and Corporate Partner Pfizer, for making the year-on-year realisation of our educational ambitions possible.”

 

ENDS

For further information contact info[at]eahp[dot]eu / 00 322 741 6835

NOTES TO EDITORS:

1. The European Association of Hospital Pharmacists (EAHP) is an association of national organisations across 34 countries representing hospital pharmacists at European and international levels. More information about the EAHP and its history here.

2. The 19th Congress of the EAHP took place in Barcelona from 26th to 28th March 2014, and took as its theme: ‘The innovative hospital pharmacist – imagination, skills and organisation’. More information, including the full programme of events, is available here.

3. Requests for further information about specific Programme events, or for interviews with particular speakers, can be taken forward by contacting the EAHP secretariat in the first instance via info[at]eahp[dot]eu

4. Photographs of the Congress, for reuse by the media, will be made available via the EAHP online press room. More information here.

5. Members of the media are encouraged to  sign up for automatic updates from EAHP of new press releases and other news via the subscribe section of the EAHP website. More information here.

6. Information about the 2014 Synergy Satellite event, ‘Anticoagulants-a matter of heart! Towards a bright future’ is available here.

7. Information about future Synergy Satellite events is available here.

8. Further information about EAHP’s policy and advocacy activity on medicines shortages is available here.

9. EAHP is currently conducting a pan-European survey of hospital pharmacists on the status of shortages in their country. The survey will close on 7th May 2014. More information here.

10. More information about Good Practice Initiatives (GPIs) is available here.

11. Its just six weeks until the European Summit on Hospital Pharmacy (14-15 May 2014). Members of the media wishing to attend and report on the proceedings are encouraged to register early. More information here.