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The Pharmaceutical Group of the European Union hosted this week in Berlin its Annual Symposium dedicated to ‘New Opportunities in Primary Care: Maximising Pharmacists’ Contribution via Interdisciplinary Collaboration.’
The event provided a picture from different perspectives of how the pharmacist’s role has developed in the primary care setting.
Particular emphasis was given to collaboration in the primary care team, and emerging opportunities for pharmacists to increase their contribution to patient safety and the overall quality of care.
The Symposium brought together examples of innovative pharmacy practice in primary care in Europe, including medicines management, pharmacist prescribing, systematic collaboration with physicians, and pharmacy based electronic medication records. Contributions came from pharmacists from Germany, the UK, Portugal, France and the Netherlands.
The Symposium also addressed the new opportunities for pharmacists to report adverse drug reactions created by the new European Directive on Pharmacovigilance.
The Symposium, attended by over 120 national representatives from the pharmacy profession in Europe, was opened by Thomas Ilka, Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal Ministry of Health, who addressed the new opportunities for pharmacists presented by, among other things, the new European Directives on Pharmacovigilance and Falsified Medicines.
Mr John Chave, PGEU’s Secretary General and moderator of the event said: “It is essential for both the better health of European citizens and the sustainability of health systems, that primary care evolves to better meet growing problems such as poor adherence to medication, and adverse drug reactions. Our Symposium has shown that pharmacy practice in Europe is addressing these issues head on through new forms of practice. In particular, the meeting demonstrated that more systematic collaboration between health professionals and pharmacists improves patient care and saves money for the health system.”
Pharmaceutical Group of the European Union (PGEU)
