E-DRUG: FIP Global Conference on the Future of Hospital Pharmacy Completed
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Hospital pharmacists from around the world met in Basel, Switzerland and
successfully developed 74 consensus statements reflecting the profession's
preferred vision of practice in the hospital setting. The Global
Conference on the Future of Hospital Pharmacy was hosted by the FIP
Hospital Pharmacy Section as part of the 68th Annual Congress of the
International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP).
A total of 348 registrants representing 98 nations met on 30 and 31 August
to develop and endorse the list of goals and objectives. Following two
days of debate and discussion, all of the consensus statements were
approved by the assembled delegates. The statements cover all areas of the
medicine use process in hospitals, including the procurement of medicines,
preparation and distribution, prescribing, administration of medicines,
and the monitoring of patient outcomes. In addition, issues related to
human resources and training were addressed. Medication safety was an
important consideration in all consensus statement development.
According to Andy Gray (South Africa), President of the FIP Hospital
Pharmacy Section, "We believe that this historic consensus meeting will
motivate all pharmacists, especially those in hospitals, to reconsider
their practice and commit to improvements that will positively affect
patient outcomes."
The FIP Global Conference on the Future of Hospital Pharmacy has been in
planning for nearly 3 years, during which time a survey of hospital
pharmacy practice was conducted. The survey, describing the nature and
scope of pharmacy practice worldwide, included responses from 85 nations
representing 86% of the world population. The Chair of the Conference
Steering Committee, Lee Vermeulen (USA), said "The incredibly strong
evidence base we compiled and analyzed supported the consensus development
and will allow hospital pharmacists to expand their practices and have a
profound impact on the quality, safety and efficiency of medicine use in
the hospital setting."
All of the approved consensus statements, along with evidence-based
literature reviews that support the statements, will be published in early
2009 in a special supplement of the American Journal of Health-System
Pharmacy. Free access to the full proceedings will be made possible
through the Journal web site.
For more information about the Global Conference, see the Conference web
site at www.fip.org/globalhosp.
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Satu J. Siiskonen, M.Sc.,
Pharmacist
Erasmus University Medical Center
The Netherlands