Pharmaceutical Group of the European Union launches its vision for greater use of Pharmacists’ Competences

With a view to making better use of the competences of European pharmacists, the PGEU set out its vision on the European Community Pharmacy Blueprint. PGEU tried to compile in one document the European governments’ goals in terms of optimising the use of medicines, achieving better value from pharmacotherapy of patients, and reducing the overall cost of health care.

The document’s main recommendations are:
 To optimise health outcomes to individual patients and add value to health systems across Europe:
 To improve medicine safety and access to medicines; boost treatment outcomes of individual patients
 To contribute to better efficiency and quality of health systems.
 To successfully cope with challenges like changes to demographics, changes to health risk factors, issues around the health workforce, moves to patient-centred care and economic pressures.

For PGEU, the community of pharmacies plays an important role in healthcare systems. Due to the changing of the organisation and structure of healthcare, these professionals need to be ready to provide patients with the best and most cost-effective care possible.

The PGEU’s blueprint raises the following fundamental questions: . How can we do more to improve access to medicines?

. How can we do more for our patients?

. How can we further contribute to public health?

. How can we further contribute to efficiency of health systems?

PGEU’s vision reads as follows: “in order to embrace current and future challenges, we want to create a future where services offered at European community pharmacies, by highly qualified and independent healthcare professionals - community pharmacists - further support individual patients, public health and the healthcare system.”

 Key facts and figures

• Community pharmacies across the EU employ 400,000 pharmacists, as well as over 600,000 other pharmacy support staff, and provide training sites for pharmacy students.

• There are 154,000 community pharmacies in the EU.

• On average, the medicines budget is 17% of the total health budget.

• 194,500 deaths a year in the EU are from taking the wrong dose and non-adherence to prescribed medication.
• Non-adherence is estimated to cost the European Union €125 billion annually.

EPHA related articles:

 EU community pharmacists’ contribution to public health
 The new PGEU Annual Report 2011: 24 hours in the pharmacy