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World Pharmacist Day in Arucas
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The general director of Healthcare Programs of the Canary Islands Health Service, Octavio Jiménez Ramos, at the event held at the Casa de Turismo in Arucas in commemoration of World Pharmacist Day, convened by the International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP) with the slogan “Safe and effective medicines for all”, He/She thanked the work that pharmacists provide in all areas to ensure patient safety.
Octavio Jiménez presided over the commemoration, which focused on the colloquium “Pharmacists Facing the Problems of the Drug Supply Crisis, Analysis of Causes and Professional Alternatives,” and included the presence of Manuel Ángel Galván, president of the Council of Pharmacists of the Canary Islands and of the COF of Santa Cruz de Tenerife.
The president of the COF of Las Palmas, Juan Ramón Santana Ayala, presented the colloquium in which the head of the Pharmaceutical Planning Service of the Canary Islands Health Service, Rodolfo Ríos Rull; the director of the Academy of Formulation and Individualized Medications and president of the Association of Pharmacies of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Manuel Díaz Feria; and the director of the Technical Services of the General Council of Pharmaceutical Colleges, Antonio Blanes, participated.
In his welcome and introductory remarks at the colloquium, the president of the COF of Las Palmas thanked the representatives of Adigran, Alcer, and Canarias con Corazón for their presence. He highlighted the crucial social role of rural and neighborhood pharmacies, emphasizing their close and ongoing patient monitoring, which he stated is fundamental for sustaining the planned pharmacy model. This model, with a ratio of one pharmacy per 2,500 inhabitants – the lowest in the world – was attributed by him to the Constitution and the healthcare legislation of the last decades of the previous century, and is internationally admired.
It is considered necessary to adapt to the current social needs of the 21st century. As we have moved from 20th-century chemical synthesis medicines to biological medicines, the pharmacist's role must logically evolve, orienting towards more assisted care. This includes dispensing accompanied by professional services related to the proper use of medication, healthcare, and disease prevention.
This social endeavor, the president continued, has a technological component in which pharmacies in the Canary Islands are pioneers, as it was the second autonomous community to implement electronic prescriptions ten years ago, and the first to launch the interoperable prescription system with Extremadura, all with a joint effort with the Canary Islands administrations, achieving a leading position in technology.
The president said that technology is a useful tool in facing the new challenges posed by the drug supply problem that mainly affects users and requires a solution to minimize its impact. To this end, the General Council has launched the Drug Supply Information Center (CISMED).
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The CISMED, a project with European ambitions
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The symposium highlighted that the drug shortage problem began a decade ago and has worsened in recent years. The Interterritorial Council of Health has responded to this problem with the Spanish Agency of Medicines and Medical Devices' (AEMPS) Plan for Guaranteeing Drug Supply, and through the CISMED by the Council. In 90 percent of cases, the issue is resolved at the pharmacy, and in 7 percent, through foreign medications.
The Director of Technical Services for the Council, Antonio Blanes, pointed out that this is a problem that doesn't seem to be going away and that it's important to try to obtain real information about the supply problem. This requires notification and data availability, as currently, if there's no communication from the lab, there's no official supply problem.
In an effort to get “the real picture” of the situation, the Council has launched CISMED, although it has considered that other additional measures are necessary in drug substitution policies, in compounded formulations through regional agreements, and, of course, by utilizing the information generated by community pharmacies from CISMED.
This project has been viewed with interest in the European sphere, therefore the Council's tool could become a “pilot” for a European information system, as the supply problem affects all countries.
Rodolfo Ríos highlighted that there are multiple causes for supply problems: price, scarce commercial interest, few raw material manufacturers, non-compliance with manufacturing standards, the inability of third parties to assume the market when the main supplier fails, and globalization. He pointed out that foreign medication authorized by the Spanish Agency of Medicines is the solution when there is no other alternative.
The Head of Pharmaceutical Management stated that the origin of this problem dates back a decade and has been increasing ever since. He considered it worrying that out of 15,000 authorized medications, 500 currently have supply issues.
Pharmacists, despite not being responsible for these supply shortages, are solving the problem by providing patients with information and alternatives, such as substitutions when possible or magistral preparations. In this regard, Manuel Díaz Feria recalled that the magistral formula is a legally recognized medication and a perfectly valid alternative solution in emergency situations, though not universal, and that it is being used to address supply problems.
He added that from the hospital pharmacy, doctors, and patients advised by doctors, are in many cases requesting information about the possibility of using compounded formulations as an alternative, since there are active ingredients available because there is demand and because they have lost their patent, and if it is available, any medication can be made, including Apocard, he specified. We have demand for everything, and we prepare Pantomycin or even Caverjet, although the latter requires more specialization and a clean room for its preparation.
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