EU Monitor 11 January 2022 - Register for the webinar series on affordability!

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

Webinar series on affordability – join us on 11th, 18th and 25th January!

Webinar_series_on_affordabilityThe European Association of Hospital Pharmacists (EAHP) has teamed up with Affordable Medicines Europe and the European Public Health Alliance (EPHA) and put together a webinar series on affordability. On the 11th, the 18th and the 25th of January 2022, three different webinars will take a deep dive into a specific area that may contribute to increased affordability.

Today, the first event hosted by Affordable Medicines Europe will focus on competition in the pharmaceutical sector. The second webinar, hosted by EPHA, will be held on the 18th of January and will zoom in on transparency on real costs. Procurement policies and their potential for addressing accessibility issues will be in the centre of EAHP’s webinar taking place on the 25th of January.

The last webinar of the series “Procurement policies – a tool to close the access gap!?” will look at the role procurement is playing in the affordability discussion. Negotiations that are driven mainly by pricing parameters often provide major short-term costs savings while having a potential inherent risk of negative consequences such as medicine shortages and a long-term rise of prices in a ‘winner takes it all’ scenario. Producers do not always have the manufacturing capacity to meet the potential need and vulnerability to the supply chain is added if alternative suppliers drop out of the market due to loss of tender. Thus, while on the one hand having the capability to enable better treatment access procurement policies can on the other hand also be perceived as a treatment barrier, especially when their application leads to market concentration and dependency on one single supplier. Register for this webinar to find out more about the role that procurement is playing in the affordability discussion. 

Register for today’s event HERE

Register for EPHA’s webinar on the 18th of January HERE

Register for EAHP’s webinar on procurement on the 25th of January HERE

Learn more about the webinar series HERE

 

Register for the EAHP2022 and benefit from special registration rate

EAHP2022 BannerIn about 4 months, the European Association of Hospital Pharmacists (EAHP) will be hosting the largest European gathering of hospital pharmacists in Vienna, Austria. The 26th Congress of EAHP, which will take place from 23 to 25 March, will bring together healthcare professionals from all over the globe that are seeking to improve their level of training. If you are planning to attend, don’t forget to register and benefit from the special rate which will expire on 1st February.

EAHP’s Scientific Committee, under the lead of Thomas De Rijdt, has prepared an interesting and innovative Congress programme that caters to the educational needs of the profession and takes into account the latest developments in hospital pharmacy. The 26th edition of EAHP’s Congress – which will also celebrate our association’s 50th anniversary – centres around theme " Hospital pharmacists – changing roles in a changing world".

The Student Programme will explore contemporary ethical challenges in hospital pharmacy practice, while the Pharmacotherapy Session will be looking at advances in heart failure pharmacotherapy. Different seminars will be hosted that will provide attendees with up-to-date information on for example working with limited resources, the role of the hospital pharmacist in disaster management, waste reduction, gene and cell therapies, compounding for paediatrics and medication safety. Hands-on workshops will focus on teamwork in the hospital, pharmacoeconomics, quality improvement and quality assurance, the prescribing cascade and patient-centred medication reviews.

Registration is possible via EAHP’s website.

Register for EAHP’s 26th Congress HERE

Learn more about the programme of EAHP’s 26th Congress HERE

 

Public consultation on the draft WHO Essential Medicines List Antibiotic Book

Survey_pictThe World Health Organization (WHO) has opened a public consultation on the draft WHO Essential Medicines List Antibiotic Book that provides information related to the prescribing and use of the antibiotics on the WHO Model List of Essential Medicines for the empiric treatment of common infections in adults and children. The consultation is open until the 31st of January 2022.

The draft WHO Essential Medicines List Antibiotic Book is a response to the request contained in WHO’s “Global action plan on antimicrobial resistance” (WHA Resolution 68.7) adopted at the World Health Assembly in 2015. This resolution asked WHO, international, regional and national partners to implement necessary actions in order to contribute to the accomplishment of the five objectives of the global action plan on antimicrobial resistance. Objective 4 of the global action plan is to optimize the use of antimicrobial medicines in human and animal health.

The draft publication has been developed by an international expert working group of specialists in infectious diseases, antimicrobial resistance and public health. It reflects the recommendations for antibiotics made by the WHO Expert Committee on Selection and Use of Essential Medicines, including the AWaRe (Access-Watch-Reserve) classification of antibiotics. The draft publication is accompanied by a series of infographics for individual infectious syndromes and Reserve group antibiotics, intended to be a quick reference, user-friendly and portable resource for clinicians to carry with them while seeing patients. The target audience of the publication and infographics includes all categories of healthcare providers prescribing and/or dispensing antibiotics (physicians in the outpatient and inpatient setting, dentists, nurses and nurse practitioners, pharmacists) both in the primary health care and the facility setting, developers of guidance documents, and procurement agencies. All interested stakeholders are encouraged to participate in the consultation.

Learn more about the consultation HERE

 

France takes over Council Presidency until June 2022

France22-presidencyOn 1 January 2022, France took over the Council Presidency held by Slovenia. The French Presidency centres around the motto 'Recovery, strength and a sense of belonging' aiming at enabling Europe to support the ecological and digital transitions, defending and promoting values and interests and building a shared European vision through culture, our values and our common history.

In the field of health, France plans to continue the work on COVID-19 and to prioritise strengthening European public health through promoting responsiveness, coordination and solidarity. In the next six months, the creation of a European Health Union should be finalised through the conclusions of the negations on the legislative package linked thereto. Also, support will be provided for the establishment of the European Health Emergency preparedness and Response Authority (HERA) and the promotion of the industrial strategy for health targeting European health sovereignty.

Linked to global health, the French Presidency will follow the work on setting up an international treaty to combat pandemics. Also, efforts will be made in relation to the fight against cancer, antimicrobial resistance and in the field of mental health. Negotiations will be initiated for the revision of the Directives on the safety and quality of human blood and on the safety and quality of human tissues and cells as well as for the European Commission’s proposal for the European Health Data Space.

Learn more about the French Council Presidency HERE  

Read the programme for the French Council Presidency HERE

 

EJHP: Comparison of three automated compounding devices for parenteral nutrition according to four key technical tests

EJHP Cover

Automation of parenteral nutrition preparation is nowadays a recommended practice in order to reduce human errors and thus improve the safety and accuracy of the finished product. The aim of this study is to compare the technical characteristics of automated compounding devices (ACDs) by carrying out four specific challenges. It compared three ACDs according to four relevant and specific tests. Based on the data acquired, we conclude that ACD 1 is the most accurate, has the lowest flushing volume, is suitable for use in a laminar flow hood, and achieves the best results in the production test.

Read the article HERE

 

 

 

 

 

EAHP Statement logo

[EAHP Statement Corner]

Are you familiar with the commented version of the European Statements? 

At the beginning of November, EAHP published the commented version of its European Statements of Hospital Pharmacy. The commented version provides additional information for some of the Statements to further clarify their meaning.

If you have not seen it yet, you can read it HERE.


Covid-19

 [COVID-19 Updates]      

EAHP’s COVID-19 Resource Centre

To assist its member associations and individual hospital pharmacists in this critical time with the provision of the best possible care for patients, EAHP has decided to gather and make available information on COVID-19 relevant for the hospital pharmacy profession.

Access the Resource Centre HERE


Spotlight - HP Specialisation

[Spotlight]                       

EAHP Position Paper on Hospital Pharmacy Specialisation

Hospital pharmacists are the key stakeholders responsible for medication management and safety in the hospital environment, covering both in- and out-patient services and supporting the seamless transition of care for patients moving within the healthcare system. To provide the best treatment for all patients, hospital pharmacists must be able to operate in a complex hospital setting and work collaboratively within multi-disciplinary healthcare teams.

To prepare the hospital pharmacy profession for the future, the European Association of Hospital Pharmacists (EAHP) adopted the European Statements of Hospital Pharmacy in 2014. They express commonly agreed objectives that every European health system should aim for in the delivery of hospital pharmacy services. To further enhance the quality, safety and equity of access to patient care in every European country, EAHP additionally created the Common Training Framework (CTF) project for hospital pharmacy education in Europe. This project not only fosters the further development of hospital pharmacy practice but also seeks to guarantee the access of European citizens to the highest available standard of care and the freedom of movement of the hospital pharmacy profession which is currently not accessible to all.

In June 2021, EAHP's General Assembly adopted a Position Paper on Hospital Pharmacy Specialisation. The position centres around advancing the profession by harmonising the recognition of hospital pharmacy education, enhancing the role of the hospital pharmacist and preparing the profession for future challenges.

To make a difference in medication by advancing the hospital pharmacy profession, EAHP

  • calls on the European Commission and the Member States to assist the Association in setting up a CTF through the adoption of a delegated act;
  • touches on the need for Member States to recognise the changing role of the hospital pharmacists and further foster their implementation; and,
  • underlines the importance of further promoting the uptake of such cross-sector tools inter-sector communication, coordination and multi-disciplinary collaboration in all healthcare facilities should be strengthened.

To adequately address future challenges linked to the ageing society, changing healthcare needs and other unknown factors, like future pandemics, EAHP urges that Member States invest in better workforce planning for the hospital pharmacy profession, including the availability of hospital pharmacy services for all patients of each hospital.

Read EAHP's Position Paper on Hospital Pharmacy Specialisation HERE



                               [Consultations]                                     

EDQM - European Paediatric Formulary: two draft texts released for public consultation

The European Directorate for the Quality of Medicines & HealthCare (EDQM) has released Issue 4 of Pharmeuropa PaedForm, which contains two texts for public consultation, Simple syrup (preservative-free) and Phosphate 60 mg/mL Oral solution.

Deadline – 31st March 2022

Learn more about the consultation and contribute HERE