The Hague • 25 September 2024
“Pharmacy care and pharmaceutical services are essential pillars of our healthcare systems. They directly contribute to the well-being of populations and the sustainability of healthcare systems globally,” Portugal’s Minister of Health Prof. Ana Paula Martins said yesterday at a high-level policy symposium on pharmacy care and pharmaceutical services, held at UN City, Copenhagen, Denmark. The meeting, jointly organised by the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for Europe and the International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP), gathered policymakers to explore what pharmacists can and should do to contribute to healthcare delivery and how these roles dovetail into the multidisciplinary approach to health in hospital and community settings.
Prof. Martins gave one of three keynote addresses at the symposium, sharing examples of “significant strides” that have been made in Portugal to expand and strengthen pharmacy care services. These included integration into healthcare teams, a pharmaceutical residency programme, vaccination, and point-of-care testing. However, she said: “We have not been providing the right incentives to pharmacists for the provision of primary healthcare services. We need a new contract that goes beyond vaccination and includes other services. We need to have [full] integrated care including pharmacists, and we must pay for this care to realise its value.”
The second keynote address was made by Spain’s Secretary of State for Health, Dr Javier Padilla. He announced that a working group would be established in his country to work on a consensus paper for community and primary care pharmacy. In addition, committees for pharmacotherapeutics are to be created, bringing together physicians, nurses, pharmacists and epidemiological surveillance, coordinated by primary care pharmacists. Laws in Spain are also changing so that pharmacists can substitute medicines when there are shortages. “We really want to update the role of the community pharmacy in our national health service. . . Pharmacists are one of the motors of health equity, and they are highly accessible. Community pharmacies are private facilities, but they provide an essential public service," he said.
FIP’s professional secretary Mr Luís Lourenço gave the third keynote. He said that pharmacists are doing “extraordinary work” through expanded scopes of practice, but training, regulation, & financing are needed for further implementation of professional practice. He challenged policymakers present at the meeting to think about how they could contribute to the development of the pharmacy profession for the benefit of patients.
A poster exhibition alongside the meeting aimed to raise awareness of pharmacy to visitors to the UN City building. “FIP is proud to have partnered with the WHO on this important event to increase awareness of the roles of pharmacists in healthcare delivery and highlight good practices so that countries can adapt and adopt them for use,” said FIP CEO Dr Catherine Duggan.
Dr Hans Henri P. Kluge, WHO regional director for Europe, said: “While it’s clear that the role of pharmacists is important, we have a long way to go to truly unlock their full potential as frontline health care professionals and members of multidisciplinary teams. This high-level symposium, co-organised with our partners at the International Pharmaceutical Federation, is part of our efforts to explain to the wider world the role of pharmacists, and to place their needs and aspirations under the spotlight. . . . [At] a time in which the [European] region still struggles with shortages of health workers across the board, we must better maximise the role of pharmacists.”
Notes for editors
About FIP The International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP) is the global federation of national associations of pharmacists, pharmaceutical scientists and pharmacy educators, and is in official relations with the World Health Organization. Through its 160 member organisations, it represents over four million practitioners and scientists around the world. www.fip.org
PRESS CONTACT
Ms Lin-Nam Wang
Head of Communications & Advocacy
International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP)
Email linnam@fip.org