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Digital Health

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FIP Development Goal 20 Workforce Element 

Globally, we will have: 

Enablers of digital transformation within the pharmacy workforce and effective processes to facilitate the development of a digitally literate pharmaceutical workforce.

Mechanisms

  • Develop courses, training material and experiential learning opportunities in initial education & early career training to prepare a digitally literate workforce (FIP Development Goals 1 & 2 [w]).
  • Incorporate digital health and literacy competencies and skills in pharmaceutical competency, advanced and specialist frameworks (FIP Development Goals 4 & 5 [w]).
  • Multi-disciplinary learning strategies for digital health literacy that include interprofessional education (FIP Development Goal 8 [w]).
  • Provide opportunities for continuous education and development to ensure the workforce remains up to date with digital health changes and innovations (FIP Development Goal 9 [w]).
  • Incorporate digital health within workforce development policies including employment policies such as employment opportunities in digital health sector (FIP Development Goal 13 [w]).
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FIP Development Goal 20 Practice Element 

Globally, we will have: 

Systems and structures in place to develop and deliver quality digital health and pharmaceutical care services through the digital literacy and utilisation of technology and digital enablers, configuration of responsive digital services to widen access and equity.

Mechanisms

  • Utilise digital enablers and new technologies such as shared electronic health records, applications, and artificial intelligence to support the delivery of innovative services and the appropriate care and decision making.
  • Demonstrate digital literacy and understanding of governance issues surrounding data ownership, ethics, privacy, quality information; and have policies in place to support the development of the workforce as managers of health data.
  • Recognise digital health as a mechanism for widening access and equity including access to digital pharmaceutical care.
  • Identify and understand ethical and operational implications of digital technologies, as well as the implications in terms of professional accountability for patient outcomes of expanded access to patient information, shared electronic records.
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FIP Development Goal 20 Science Element 

Globally, we will have: 

Application of digital technology in healthcare delivery and development of innovative medical products.

Mechanisms

  • Promote the use and interpretation of digital technology and information during training and education of pharmacists and pharmaceutical scientists.
  • Enable integration of “data science” solutions to improve patient care.
FIP digital health in pharmacy education: Developing a digitally enabled pharmaceutical workforce (2021) Thumbnail

FIP digital health in pharmacy education: Developing a digitally enabled pharmaceutical workforce (2021)

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Online pharmacy operations and distribution of medicines: Global Survey Report - FIP Community Pharmacy Section (2021) Thumbnail

Online pharmacy operations and distribution of medicines: Global Survey Report - FIP Community Pharmacy Section (2021)

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FIP Position Statement: Emerging technologies and pharmacy practice (2020) Thumbnail

FIP Position Statement: Emerging technologies and pharmacy practice (2020)

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FIP Statement of Policy: Digital health (2021) Thumbnail

FIP Statement of Policy: Digital health (2021)

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FIP Train the Trainer online course for educators on digital health - Capitalizing on the benefits of digital health

FIP Train the Trainer online course for educators on digital health - Capitalizing on the benefits of digital health Thumbnail
January 27, 2022

Recent technological advancements have revolutionized clinical practice, and there is need for a pharmaceutical workforce that is well-equipped to embrace, innovate, and capitalize on the benefits of digital health. Findings from the 2021 FIP report on digital health in pharmacy education revealed the need to develop courses, training material and experiential learning opportunities to prepare a digitally literate pharmacy workforce.

The Academic Pharmacy Section, supported by the FIP Provision and Partnerships programme, and many FIP constituencies led a ONEFIP project to develop the first FIP-developed online Train the Trainer (TtT) course. At this event, we will reflect on the progress made to date, launch the TtT course, which targets academics as well as educators in any sector in pharmacy, and how this initiative builds on FIP competency frameworks and reports.

Event outcomes:
1. To describe FIP’s response following the release of digital health in pharmacy education report in 2021.
2. To provide an overview of the FIP Global Platform for Provision and Partnerships.
3. To launch the FIP Train the Trainer online course on FIPx and generate interest in the course

Click here to register for the course.

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FIP “Setting goals for the decade ahead” | Episode 4 | FIP DG 20: Digital health

FIP “Setting goals for the decade ahead” | Episode 4 | FIP DG 20: Digital health Thumbnail
May 12, 2021

The FIP Development Goals Digital Programme “Setting goals for the decade ahead” is a comprehensive online event series providing coverage of the 21 goals over 21 events in 2021. Starting in March, the 21 digital events aim to provide description, direction and context for each specific goal, with a global plan for the decade ahead and how each nation, within each region can identify and prioritise which goals are the priorities and how the goals can support developments and transformation for them.

This programme is all about engaging the profession and supporting the profession to deliver in relevant and purposeful ways. By engaging our profession, members & colleagues everywhere with these relevant and applicable goals for the decade ahead, we can provide tools, monitoring and evaluation through data evidence, and identifying priorities across practice, science, and workforce & education.

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Digital health: Innovating pharmacy for the future

Digital health: Innovating pharmacy for the future Thumbnail

Recent digital solutions have revolutionised clinical practice through all stages of health service delivery —  from prevention to diagnosis, disease management and monitoring. Pharmacists must keep abreast of all these emerging advances to which immense capabilities will reshape healthcare worldwide. These events will showcase how a confident, capable, agile, and digitally enabled pharmaceutical workforce can be developed through education, as well as how it can leverage the potential of digital health into a sustainable pharmacy ecosystem and tackle the challenges to usher pharmacy into its digital future.

More on the programme events

Online pharmacy operations and distribution of medicines

Online pharmacy operations and distribution of medicines Thumbnail
December 8, 2021

Traditionally, the distribution of medicines to consumers has been organized through heavily regulated networks of physical pharmacies. The strict regulation of market structure has been in place to ensure the safety, accessibility and affordability of medicines, but it has also limited competition in the pharmacy sector. Nowadays, the regulation of pharmacies differs between countries, and this has created different market conditions for online pharmacies to operate.

In some countries the online sales of medicines have grown considerably during the recent years as consumers have become more accustomed to e-commerce. More lately the Covid-19 pandemic has dramatically shaped the e-commerce landscape. Due to the pandemic, the demand for online services of pharmacies has increased significantly in many countries. It is also likely that this has changed preferences for some consumers permanently and demand should therefore remain at a higher level in the future.

Increased cooperation between countries in developing regulation of online pharmacies is needed, according to the report, “Online pharmacy operations and distribution of medicines”, which will be published by the International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP) on December 8th, 2021.

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What technology can bring to cytotoxic drugs compounding

What technology can bring to cytotoxic drugs compounding Thumbnail
November 9, 2021

Cytotoxic drugs compounding is one of the most risky activity among all pharmaceutical operations in a Pharmacy. This has led pharmacists to multiply check points at each critical step and in-process controls to keep that risk at the lowest, as reported in numerous publications. What can technology bring in terms of safety, speed, convenience, and reliability in such complex environments ? Three exemples will be discussed in this webinar: CSTDs, IV workflow management system with IA technology and video recording, and robotic compounding.
And if you are addicted to serious games, come and see how you can increase your competencies while training in immersive virtual reality in a real cytotoxic drugs compounding environment

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Digital health and hospital pharmacy

Digital health and hospital pharmacy Thumbnail
October 4, 2021

This webinar will present the professional practice in the hospital setting using health digital technologies. Digital Innovation, how to develop digital skills in pharmacy personnel Telepharmacy and mHealth is the content of the first part. It is relevant to discuss “mHealth” because the access to mobile phones is almost universal and the costs of this technology will be able to be addressed by many countries. The objective of the second part will be: “Discuss current use of mHealth by patients and providers and the impact on hospital care in Midwestern United States” “Medication use technology” would complete the webinar.

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Technology Forum Webinar on Virtual Reality

Technology Forum Webinar on Virtual Reality Thumbnail
September 27, 2021

FIP Technology Forum brings you the webinar about Virtual reality (VR). VR has been widely studied and applied in numerous medical applications. In pharmacy, VR can potentially be applied in wide range of activities, from drug design and discovery, though pharmacist education, to in-patient counseling and behavior modification. In this webinar we bring you the examples of VR technology applications in pharmacy. In our webinar, we will showcase and immersive virtual reality in a virtual environment with experience from Finland with our speaker Mia Siven from Helsinki University, where the VR was successfully applied in pharmacy education. We will then present a showcase of immersive virtual reality in a real environment, with speakers Agnes Bobay Madic and Paul Besnier with their example from France. VR technology has become increasingly affordable, flexible, and portable, enabling its use for therapeutic purposes in both inpatient and outpatient environments. But despite the compelling features of VR, a number of challenges exist, such as validation of clinical efficacy, cost/accessibility and usability issues, technical capabilities, acceptance, among others. You will have the opportunity to ask questions in the panel discussion part of the webinar.

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Our work

The following FIP programmes of work and structures support the implementation of this Goal:

FIPx – FIP Train the Trainer online course

FIP Technology Forum 

FIP UNESCO-UNITWIN Programme