Representatives of community pharmacists from Austria, Croatia, France, Germany, Montenegro, Norway, Poland and the UK met online as the Congress of EPhEU on Thursday 15 October.
Some of the Congress delegates on screen
The main topic of discussion this year was understandably the impact of the Covid pandemic and presentations from across Europe demonstrated the similarity in the experience of community pharmacy across the continent. Some differences do exist, for example in several countries splitting each community pharmacy into two teams that do not have contact is a practice not widely seen in the UK.
The President of EPhEU, Katarina Fehir Šola from Croatia opened the Assembly with a report of EPhEU activity since the last Assembly held in Zagreb in 2019. The EPhEU executive committee, which includes PDA Chairman Mark Koziol, had continued to meet virtually throughout the year and EPhEU activity included
- Engagement with the International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP)
- Supporting the #PharmacyHeroes Campaign
- Activity with the European Cancer Organisation (ECCO)
- Research into the legal extension of the role of pharmacists in light of the Covid-19 global pandemic.
The #PharmacyHeroes campaign supported by EPhEU
Formal business at the assembly included approving the association’s accounts and budgets and that was followed by presentations from each of the national delegations present, with subsequent discussion allowing other attendees to understand further detail.
It was agreed that the 10th EPhEU congress will be held in Oslo in 2021 (the intended location for the 2020 congress, before the pandemic). In the meantime, EPhEU and the affiliated organisations work together to share best practice and address shared challenges for community pharmacies in Europe.
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