The European Congress of the Hospital Pharmacy Association opens in Vienna
VIENNA – Healthcare is changing all over the world, therapies (genetic and personalized) are arriving that can bring about a radical change of paradigm in the organization and management of healthcare settings: are we also ready to change the systems for measuring healthcare performance? The question was put in no uncertain terms by Professor Steven Simoens, pharmacoeconomist at the University of Leuven, during the lecture which opened in Vienna on 26th meeting of the European Association of Hospital Pharmacy (Ehp).
It is no coincidence that the event presents a programmatic title and a drive for transformation: ‘Changing roles in a changing world – Changing roles in a changing world ‘(23-25 March, Austria Center, Vienna). In front of 5,000 hospital pharmacy and health policy experts, the European event intends to break away from the reference concepts of healthcare productivity, for “value-based healthcare, which focuses on outcomes in terms of patient health”, as underlined by Prof. Thomas De Rijdt, president of Eahp. In this transition here is that perceived personal and social effectiveness, equity and efficiency, economic and environmental sustainability are some of the founding values underlying the very concept of “value-based healthcare”.
In this scenario, professional functions and responsibilities change radically: what, then, is the new role of hospital pharmacists? Answers Emanuela Omodeo Salèamong the Italian representatives at the European Conference, member of the Board of Directors of the Italian Society of Hospital Pharmacy and of the Pharmaceutical Services of the Health Authorities (Sifo) and director of the Ieo hospital pharmacy: “The new measure of health services is a very important front proposed in the Eahp works in Vienna. The consideration we all shared is clear: very advanced therapies are coming, which push towards a new management of patients and which lead to a transformation and innovation of healthcare organizations. Treatments in oncology, rare diseases and cardiovascular fields are rapidly changing and it is clear that we can no longer measure performance on the basis of values and therapies referring to a past that is now outdated in our daily professionalism “.
During the works, differentiated models of value based healthcare developed in the USA, by the WHO (WHO CHOICE Project), in Europe and by Ichom (International Consortium Health Outcome Measures) were presented, but in reality the various experiences must then be implemented at the within the different health systems, taking into account the specific organizations and the different reimbursement systems. Is this new path possible in Italy? “Certainly yes – replies Omodeo Salè – First of all, an awareness must also spread in our country: measuring does not mean bringing everything back to an economic reference value, but creating the multidisciplinary conditions to generate new evaluation criteria. One thing must therefore be shared: we are moving towards new systems, and therefore we have to generate new measures. To do so, a multidisciplinary governance of this epochal transition is required. And the hospital pharmacist has all the appropriate skills and experience to be a protagonist“, Concludes the member of the Board of Directors Sifo.