Among the additional services provided were filling and extending repeat prescriptions, home delivery, point of care testing and vaccinations. Where needed, regulatory adaptations ensured that community pharmacies were authorized to provide these services. The new and expanded services proved highly successful, and community pharmacies demonstrated that they are a highly adaptable, essential component of local and national health care systems. Patients’ appreciation of pharmacy increased substantially and governments recognised and praised the vital role provided successfully by the community pharmacy networks. The conference noted that the authorizations to provide some services have been temporary, and identified the need to ensure that those benefits to health systems be maintained through permanent enablement of full scope of community pharmacy practice.

Delegates discussed the issues associated with pharmacy activities currently being classified under Retail not Health Care within the United Nations’ International Standard Industrial Classification system (ISIC). The WPC has already written to the UN to propose a review of this outdated and restrictive classification and will work to secure reclassification. This is expected to take some time to achieve.

The Council is a member of the Associate Expert Group of Business at OECD, and continued its active engagement with the organisation through the conference. The Head of the OECD Health Division, Francesca Colombo, spoke to the delegates about the organisation’s programme on Financial Sustainability and Resilience of Health Systems. The conference also met with Julie Chauvet, who is leading the Business at OECD campaign on Resilience, to learn about and contribute further to the campaign.

Future initiatives agreed at the meeting, in addition to the Resilience programme, included: building the case supply and administration of specialty medicine through community pharmacy; quantifying the cost of non-adherence to medication regimes and the economic benefit of community pharmacy medication adherence support; examining the causes of current pharmacy workforce shortages; and the development of digital health services by community pharmacy to improve patient care.

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

Danmarks Apotekerforening

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

Danmarks Apotekerforening