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Welcome to the World Pharmacy Council

Welcome to the World Pharmacy Council

Welcome to the World Pharmacy Council, established in 2017 by community pharmacy organisations in seven countries (Pharmintercom) that have met annually since 1987 to share information and discuss the role, opportunities and issues affecting community pharmacy.  The World Pharmacy Council is an Associate Expert Group member of Business at OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development).


Community pharmacies play a great but frequently unrecognised and unquantified role in healthcare systems. They provide care and advice for a range of health issues.  From wound care and minor sprains, to pain and infections, pharmacies offer care and advice from infancy throughout life.  A core role for pharmacies is to supply prescribed medications with the right information and guidance to help ensure proper use and efficacy.   For many people with health problems, their relationship with a community pharmacy team is an important part of their support network.

These pharmacy core services are vital components of health systems, contributing to managing demand for physician or hospital resources. They are supplemented in some countries by greater use of the clinical skills of community pharmacists, who can adjust or even initiate prescribed medication therapy, sometimes as part of medicines management services.



The growth of online retailing is challenging traditional ‘bricks and mortar’ trading models including community pharmacies. In most countries fees paid for dispensing provide the funding to support provision of advice and support that is not directly remunerated.



Health costs are rising and increasingly governments focus on use of new technologies to change traditional models of care. Community pharmacy must be part of the debates, in individual countries and internationally, to develop recognition of its place in the provision of health care today, and to contribute to dialogue about the future: how pharmacies can be an integral part of innovative systems.



The mission of the World Pharmacy Council is to build international recognition of community pharmacy, its role, policies and value, and to influence, promote and secure acceptance of community pharmacy as an important and integral part of health systems.

Our Mission

By 2025 the World Pharmacy Council is established and acknowledged as an informed and respected data driven expert on the actual and potential role of community pharmacy in patient care and public health, advocating for using the full scope of practice of community pharmacists as part of integrated care of patients with acute or chronic conditions, and as providers of public health services, in line with the recommendations of organizations such as the OECD.


Our Vision

  • Community Pharmacy intervention and care of people with Long Term Conditions as providing safe, comprehensive, accessible and high quality services as part of an integrated primary care ‘web of care’.
  • Community Pharmacy support for wellness/prevention of disease to reduce cost burden on health systems.
  • Community Pharmacy as a platform for patient outcomes data capture and analysis and a gatekeeper of health care data.
  • Community Pharmacy as the principal provider of easily accessible advice and treatment of common illnesses.

Strategic Pillars

  • All members of the public should have easy access to a community pharmacy. The availability of face-to-face consultation with an expert in the use of medicines is a valued part of health care systems.
  • All patients should be able to receive medicines they need from community pharmacies. Pharmacies will make adjustments to address any disabilities or barriers to the service.
  • Pharmacies provide safe storage of medicines and manage supplies to ensure speedy and reliable supply of medicines, with professional oversight to minimise risks of inappropriate medication or dose.
  • Supply of medicines through community pharmacies is an important measure to prevent the distribution and use of medicines for recreational or unsafe use, and the Council opposes cross-border distance selling of medicines.
  • Pharmacists’ expertise in the use and effects of medicines minimises adverse events and should be used to proactively support patients in getting the best outcomes from medicines prescribed for or used by them.
  • The important role of the community pharmacist and support staff in education of their patients and customers should be recognised and valued. This includes the care of self-limiting conditions, management of symptoms and referral to appropriate sources of care.
  • Community pharmacists should be used to provide guidance, information and support to help people avoid lifestyle-related diseases and maintain good health; they can provide immunisations and vaccinations to contribute to minimising the incidence of diseases.
  • Community pharmacy services contribute to minimising harm associated with illicit drug use, and pharmacies will collaborate with health services to reduce acquisition of non-prescribed medicines for harmful recreational use.
  • Community pharmacies handle all patient data securely and all pharmacy staff are trained to ensure that the confidentiality of all information about patients is maintained.
  • Community pharmacies commit to ensuring that pharmacists and support staff undertake continuing professional development and training relevant to their practice, to ensure they maintain their competence and ability to provide the best possible care to their population.
  • Community pharmacies can help manage the cost of providing care, by identifying individual opportunities to make savings in medication without compromising quality, and by competent and convenient provision of services that would otherwise be provided at higher cost.

Our Principles

The World Pharmacy Council was established in 1987 as Pharmintercom and the seven founder member countries have met annually, exchanging news of developments, data and experience. To date no multi-national organisation has represented and promoted the value of community pharmacies in health care systems.  Pharmintercom recognised the need for community pharmacy to have a voice to influence health policy internationally, and expand its membership beyond the seven countries. It agreed to establish the World Pharmacy Council (WPC) at its 2016 meeting.

The aim of the World Pharmacy Council is to speak for community pharmacy internationally; we encourage you to explore this website and contact the organisation via the contact form below. 


To be a voice for community pharmacy internationally, the Council has secured a voice and recognition in the Business at OECD, the voice of Business in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). This intergovernmental organisation comprises 36 member countries, with a mission to improve the economic and social well-being of people around the world.


OECD has a Business and Industry Advisory Committee (BIAC).  Its website explains: “Being part of BIAC allows members access to meetings, global fora, and other consultations with OECD leadership, senior government officials, committees and related working groups”.  From 2019 the Council has been a member of the BIAC Associate Expert Groups on Health and Consumer Affairs.


History

WPC Member Organisations

The Pharmacy Guild of Australia is the peak representative body for community pharmacy owners in Australia.

The Pharmacy Guild of Australia

Neighbourhood Pharmacies members represent Canada's leading pharmacy organizations that deliver high value, quality care to Canadians in all models.

Neighbourhood Pharmacy Association of Canada

The Danish Pharmacies Association is pharmacy's employer and trade association in Denmark.


Danmarks Apotekerforening


The Federal Union of German Associations of Pharmacists is the umbrella organisation of more than 60,000 pharmacists in Germany.


The Irish Pharmacy Union (IPU) is the representative and professional body for community pharmacists in Ireland.

Irish Pharmacy Union

The Pharmacy Guild of New Zealand is the peak representative body for pharmacy owners in New Zealand.

The Pharmacy Guild of New Zealand

Associação Nacional das Farmácias


The National Association of Pharmacies (ANF) is a professional association which represents the interests of pharmacy owners in Portugal.

The General Council of Spanish Pharmacists represents the pharmacy profession at the national and international level.

Consejo General de Colegios Oficiales de Farmaceuticos España

NPA is the trade association for independent community pharmacies in the UK. 

National Pharmacy Association 

Community Pharmacy England (formerly the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee) promotes and supports the interests of NHS community pharmacies in England

Community Pharmacy England

The National Community Pharmacists Association represents the pharmacist owners, managers, and employees of more than 22,000 independent community pharmacies across the United States

National Community Pharmacists Association

Affiliate Members

PLEASE NOTE BEFORE COMPLETING THIS FORM:

If you are an individual, please note that membership of the World Pharmacy Council is not available to individuals. The Council’s full members are community pharmacy representative organisations, and application for affiliate membership is open only to companies and other organisations that have an interest in the field of community pharmacy.

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The Danish Pharmacies Association is pharmacy's employer and trade association in Denmark.


Danmarks Apotekerforening