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A report for the ESCP Symposium held in Prague last year has been published in the latest issue of Hospital Pharmacy Europe (HPE102). 

Brussels, 13 March 2023. Last Wednesday, the European Association of Hospital Pharmacists (EAHP) and the European Society of Clinical Pharmacy (ESCP) brought together representatives of the healthcare community to talk about the provision of compassionate patient care, working as part of the healthcare team and advancing the clinical and hospital pharmacy profession. The discussion at the European Parliament focused on unmet health needs, clinical pharmacy services, workforce shortages and the impact of medication errors and the lack of comprehensive, and European-wide data on their occurrence.

Many did not know before the launch of the EAHP-ESCP Oath to Society in October 2021 that both professions carry out a variety of activities to ensure optimal treatment outcomes for patients. Almost 1,5 years after the launch, EAHP and ESCP decided to take stock and obtain insights from other stakeholders on how clinical and hospital pharmacists can continue to deliver on the promises included in the Oath to Society.

Reflecting on the value of the initiative ahead of the event, Martina Hahn, ESCP General Committee Member, pointed out that “the Oath to Society is an important step to raise awareness of the profession of pharmacists and clinical pharmacists in particular. All faculties across Europe received the Oath and if all students and all pharmacists in Europe stick to them and take on the new responsibilities now, every citizen will know what to expect from every pharmacist in Europe – a highly professional service to his or her best health and safety in regards to drug therapy.”

The event in the European Parliament – hosted by Member of the European Parliament István Ujhelyi – brought together key stakeholders that are engaging closely with clinical and hospital pharmacists. The panellists Thomas Kanga-Tona (AIM – International Association of Mutual Benefit Societies), Juan José Fernández Romero (EPF – European Patients’ Forum), Ber Oomen (ESNO – European Specialist Nurses Organisation), Pascal Garel (HOPE – European Hospital and Healthcare Federation) and Marc Hermans (UEMS – European Union of Medical Specialists) shared their positive experiences in working collaboratively with clinical and hospital pharmacists and showed why multidisciplinary approaches are paramount for improving patient care and lowering medication errors, not only in times when healthcare systems are burdened by shortages of medicines and healthcare staff.

The Oath to Society is the promise that the members of EAHP and ESCP make to patients and the public they serve, the healthcare professionals they interact with and the health systems they work in. The Oath functions as a compass for pharmacists to adhere to the highest standards of ethics, integrity and professionalism, as they provide service to the community over the course of their careers. Touching on trust and respect, different aspects of the patient care pathway, the multidisciplinary care team, disease prevention and health promotion, education and the future development of pharmacy practice, the Oath to Society is all-encompassing. In his closing remarks during the launch event, EAHP President András Süle thanked the participants for their valuable input and underlined that “EAHP and ESCP look forward to working on increasing the visibility of the Oath to Society by further disseminating them among patient and healthcare professional organisations, the reimbursement of clinical pharmacy and keeping the discussion alive with patients, physicians, nurses, health providers and payers.”

For further information contact info@eahp.eu | 00 322 669 2513

1. The European Society of Clinical Pharmacy (ESCP) is an organization that promotes, supports, implements and advances education, practice and research in clinical pharmacy in order to optimize outcomes for patients and society. More information about the ESCP and its history here.

2. The European Association of Hospital Pharmacists (EAHP) is an association of national organisations across 35 countries representing hospital pharmacists at European and international levels. More information about the EAHP and its history here.

3. Access the Oath to Society here or here.

The 50th ESCP Symposium “Polypharmacy and ageing” took place in congress hotel Olšanka, Prague, Czech Republic on October 19 – 21, 2022 and emphasized the important role of clinical pharmacists in the resolution of drug-therapy problems in older adults. These individuals often have multiple chronic disease conditions treated by polypharmacy. Almost 500 professionals of various background from EU and non-EU countries attended this event.

The pre-symposium event was the Masterclass on Excellence in Research oriented to “Methodologies in Deprescribing”, organized by ESCP Research Committee o led by Assoc. Prof. Cathal Cadogan and Dr. Juliette O´Connel (Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland).

The official opening ceremony commenced with a welcome from the ESCP President, Prof. Derek Stewart, highlighting key initiatives of ESCP and progressing the development of clinical pharmacy education, science, and practice in Europe. Prof. Stewart applauded the work of all ESCP committees, and the recently launched Special Interest Groups on “Deprescribing”, “Mental Health” and “Young ESCP”.

Assoc. Prof. Daniela Fialová, President of the symposium emphasized major achievements of Czech clinical pharmacy, particularly establishing fully reimbursed clinical pharmacy positions in acute (2010) and ambulatory care (2020) by Czech Professional Society of Clinical Pharmacists of J.B. Purkyně. She welcomed honorable guests of the Czech Republic, particularly Deans of both Faculties of Pharmacy in Hradec Králové and Brno, representatives of the Institute for Postgraduate Education in HealthCare and State Institute for Drug Control, representatives of the Czech clinical pharmacy platforms, Czech pharmaceutical and medical societies and the Ministry of Health of the Czech Republic.

ESCP Fellowships were awarded to Prof. Filipa Alves da Costa (Portugal), Prof. Stephane Steubart (Belgium), and Prof. Bart van den Bemt (the Netherlands) for their outstanding contributions to clinical pharmacy education, practice and research in Europe.

Filipa Alves da Costa is Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Pharmacy University of Lisbon, where she leads the Pharmaceutical Care and Clinical Pharmacy Laboratory. She is Associate Editor of the International Journal of Clinical Pharmacy, Frontiers in Pharmacology and Pharmacy Education. She is immediate past Chair of the ESCP Education Committee and was President of the 2021 annual symposium.

Hege Salvesen Blix is Professor in Clinical Pharmacy at the University of Oslo and a pioneer of clinical pharmacy in Norway. She has been a member of ESCP for many years, most recently being a member of the General Committee and representative on the Education Committee.

Bart van den Bemt is Professor of Personalized Pharmaceutical Care at Radboud University/Radboud university medical center. He has a long history of involvement in national and international pharmacy organizations. He has had many roles at ESCP, most notably that of immediate past President.

Stephane Steurbaut is Sector Lead for research, education, and innovation at the Department of Hospital Pharmacy, UZ Brussel, Belgium and Associate Professor in Pharmaceutical Care, Faculty of Medicine & Pharmacy, VUB, Belgium. Like Bart, he also has had many roles at ESCP, most notably that of immediate past Secretary to the General Committee.

The ESCP President thanked all four for their international leadership in clinical pharmacy, highlighting their specific impacts on ESCP.

Czech national awards were given to renowned persons supporting advances in clinical pharmacy nationally, Prof. Ludmila Kameníková, Prof. Jiří Vlček, Prof. Tomáš Šimůnek, PharmDr. Jana Gregorová, Ph.D., Assoc. Prof. Daniela Fialová, PharmD, Ph.D. and PharmDr. Milada Halačová, Ph.D.

The first plenary lecture of Prof. Graziano Onder (Roma, Italy) focused on increasing trends in multimorbidity in older adults, strategies to diagnose geriatric syndromes and how to prevent geriatric drug-related morbidity and polypharmacy.  Prof. Tobias Dreischult (Munich, Germany) emphasized the role of clinical pharmacists in resolution of polypharmacy and multidrug therapy problems in complex older adults, as well as the importance of the Theory of Planned Behaviour for making long-term change in prescribing and ensuring positive impact of clinical pharmacy services. Prof. Carmel Hughes (Dublin, Ireland) delivered the Steve Hudson Memorial Lecture highlighting facilitators and barriers to clinical pharmacy research and the negative impact of COVID-19 pandemic on complex research activities, particularly on projects in multimorbid older patients in primary care. She noted future opportunities and challenges to clinical pharmacy research in geriatric polypharmacy. Further plenary lectures highlighted the specific approaches of pharmacotherapy and care for complex older patients, impact of population ageing, new European initiatives in reducing polypharmacy burden in complex older adults (e.g., EU projects SENATOR, OPERAM, EuroAgeism-ESR7, I-CARE4OLD and the others) and other specific topics of geriatric clinical pharmacy. Main plenary lectures were accompanied by interesting workshops, oral and poster presentations, and round table discussions.

Political representatives featured throughout the program, including a round table discussion targeted at supporting reimbursement of clinical pharmacy services in different settings of care and different European countries. Representatives included Prof. Alpana Mair from Scotland (Chair of the European projects focused on polypharmacy- EU SIMPATHY and i-SIMPATHY), Prof. Mateo Cesari, Switzerland (Ageing Unit of the World Health Organization), Dr. Francois-Lery Xavier and Dr. Silvia Ravella, France (European Directorate for the Quality of Medicines and Healthcare of the European Council), Prof. Barbro Westerholm, Sweden (Age Platform Europe, Brussels) and Prof. Angela Kydd, UK (the EUROAGEISM H2020 project) contributed to policy talks and discussions.

Two affiliated symposia had participation of clinical pharmacists from Central and Eastern Europe (1) on establishing paid research positions of clinical pharmacists in various settings of care and (2) collaboration of clinical pharmacists and physicians in care for older adults using polypharmacy in different healthcare settings (3 and 4) Research Symposia of the EU projects I-CARE4OLD H2020 (2021-2025) and EuroAgeism ESR7 H2020 (2017-2022) (Oct 20, 2022). These symposia aimed to inspire participants in supporting development of paid clinical pharmacy positions and to stimulate European research in geriatric clinical pharmacy and deprescribing. 

We would like to thank to all members of the symposium Organizing and Scientific Committees, all plenary speakers, Masterclass and workshop moderators, active and passive participants, ESCP committee members, policy representatives, professional conference organizer C-IN, International Office, and local organizing teams from congress venue Olšanka, as well as student helpers from the Faculty of Pharmacy, Charles University in Hradec Králové for their help and excellent support of the whole organization of Prague ESCP congress! Many thanks also to all our sponsors!

Text: Assoc. Prof. Daniela Fialová, PharmD, Ph.D. and Organizing Committee of Prague 2022 ESCP congress

Photos: Rudolf Kovář, Andrea Pezzillo, Andrea Vokálová

ESCP is an international leader in advancing quality and innovation in clinical pharmacy education, practice and research. 
As a committee member, you will be in a great position to contribute to delivering the vision and mission of ESCP. 
There are positions available in the Education Committee and the Communication Committee.
The standard term as a committee member is four years, which can be extended with the approval of the ESCP General Committee. 
 
To apply for either committee, you must be an ESCP member, attend the monthly online meetings and carry out all assigned tasks. You should be fluent in English (written and oral) and have good communication and interpersonal skills. 
 
This is a great opportunity to contribute. DON’T MISS IT!
How do I apply? You should send a short CV (limited to two pages), giving details of your educational level and relevant professional experience to the International Office, by email. Also include a short statement (no more than 300 words) of why you want to become a member of the committee you are applying for. 
 
What is the deadline? The call will close on 28 February, 2023 23:59 CET.
After that, you will be informed within 4 weeks about your application by the chair of the Committee you applied for.

_______________________________________________________________

Education Committee

The ESCP Education Committee co-ordinates the educational activities of ESCP and oversees the scientific level of these activities. The committee has responsibility for the webinar program of ESCP and leads all other educational activities. The Education Committee also participates in the construction of the scientific programs of all ESCP events and is involved in the selection of the theme of the events.

Requirements

Experience

Essential – A minimum of two years’ experience of clinical pharmacy practice.  

Desirable – Experience in teaching of clinical pharmacy and experience in research in clinical pharmacy/ clinical pharmacy education. Experience of working with international organisations related to clinical pharmacy, pharmaceutical care, advocacy, or other health-related matters.

Communication Committee

The ESCP Communication Committee co-ordinates the communication of the society’s activities via all available communication channels, including emails, the newsletter, and social media.

Requirements

Experience

Essential – Interest in developing communication processes for ESCP members and non-members. Experience in a number of IT platforms, e.g. social media, Mailchimp, WordPress.

Desirable – Active on a number of social media platforms. Experience in website development, updating and maintenance.

We want your best practice!

The European Society of Clinical Pharmacy (ESCP) and the International Journal of Clinical Pharmacy (IJCP) are continuing the ‘Best Clinical Pharmacy Practice papers’ initiative. We are calling for clinical pharmacy practices and education that describe innovative and sustainable clinical pharmacy practices worth sharing, to be published in the IJCP.

Submissions are welcome from anyone! You don’t need to be an ESCP member or based in Europe!

What is best practice?

Best practices in clinical pharmacy relate to developments in practice and education, which are supported by thorough development and implementation processes along with high quality, robust and rigorous research evidence of evaluation outcomes. These outcomes may include aspects such as acceptability, adoption, (cost-)effectiveness, efficiency, satisfaction, sustainability, etc. Any areas of clinical pharmacy practice and education development in any setting will be considered.

Have a look at some Best Practice publications.

Rose O, Happe S, Huchtemann T, et al. Enhancing medication therapy in Parkinson’s disease by establishing an interprofessional network including pharmacists. Int J Clin Pharm. 2021;43:1-8.

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11096-021-01263-w

Rushworth GF, Innes C, Macdonald A, et al. Development of innovative simulation teaching for advanced general practice clinical pharmacists. Int J Clin Pharm. 2021;43:817-824.

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11096-021-01305-3

Hazen A, Sloeserwij V, Pouls B, et al. Clinical pharmacists in Dutch general practice: an integrated care model to provide optimal pharmaceutical care. Int J Clin Pharm. 2021;43:1155-1162.

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11096-021-01304-4

Diesveld MM, de Klerk S, Cornu P, et al. Management of drug-disease interactions: a best practice from the Netherlands. Int J Clin Pharm. 2021;43:1437-50.

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11096-021-01308-0

What do we ask?

To be considered for publication, the IJCP and ESCP will first select six leading best practice proposals submitted by end of January 2024. The proposal should be formatted as a 250-word abstract (excluding author details) with the following headings: 

•          Author detail (names affiliations, email of corresponding author) 

•          Background

•          Aim (of the practice)

•          Setting

•          Development (how the practice was developed)

•          Implementation (how the practice was implemented)

•          Evaluation (how the practice was evaluated; evaluation findings)

•          Conclusion

The top six selected proposals will be given the opportunity to be converted into full manuscripts of 3,000 words maximum. Further information on the format of the full manuscript is available by clicking on the link below. 

How can you submit?

Submission of manuscripts is made through the ESCP International Office at international.office@escpweb.org

Anyone can submit. You don’t need to be an ESCP member or based in Europe!

Do not forget to submit by 31 January 2024.

The International Journal of Clinical Pharmacy (IJCP) is pleased to announce an upcoming Special Issue of the International Journal of Clinical Pharmacy.

With guest editors, Filipa Alves da Costa, Matej Stuhec and Martina Hahn, submission is open for reviews, research articles, short research reports and commentaries.

Deadline for manuscript submission is 31 March 2023, with a planned date of publication of Autumn 2023.

For further information, please visit this link 

The October issue of the International Journal of Clinical Pharmacy is now available at this link.  Check out the great selection of reviews, research papers, commentaries and much more. 

Remember that ESCP members receive free access to the journal.

The latest issue of the International Journal of Clinical Pharmacy is now available at https://link.springer.com/journal/11096/volumes-and-issues/44-4

Check out the great selection of reviews, research papers, commentaries and much more

Remember that ESCP members receive free access to the journal