BETHESDA, MD 13 October 2011—This year’s congress of the International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP) opened September 4 with an address by host country India’s president and a ceremony involving an assistant director general of the World Health Organization (WHO).
Nearly 2000 delegates representing national pharmacist and pharmaceutical scientist organizations gathered in Hyderabad to conduct FIP’s business and attend a program of sessions having the overall theme "Compromising Quality and Safety—A Risky Path."
Pratibha Devisingh Patil, the first female president of India, declared the theme "a very appropriate topic," given that the responsible use of safe, good-quality medications is critical in health care.
WHO’s Hiroki Nakatani came to the opening ceremony to sign the joint WHO–FIP statement "Engaging Pharmacists in TB Care and Control."
Joined by FIP President Michel Buchmann, Nakatani said his organization hopes that pharmacists can help people who have tuberculosis access the care and treatment they need.
FIP Professional Secretary Henri R. Manasse Jr., of ASHP, said the international pharmacy group has asked all the national organizations "to take that [WHO–FIP] statement and begin to implement it in their respective countries."
The recent FIP congress was the last one at which Manasse represented ASHP. He retires from the position of ASHP executive vice president and chief executive officer at the end of 2011. His service as an FIP secretary continues through the 2013 congress.
Joint statements with WHO. "Tuberculosis is not a real big issue in the U.S.," Manasse said. "So, I think in those isolated [domestic] areas where tuberculosis is an issue, we would hope that people that work in tuberculosis therapy and therapeutic management would adhere to the joint statement."
The statement is available at www.fip.org/statements.
WHO and FIP also issued joint guidelines on good pharmacy practice, updating a set published in 1999.
According to the new guidelines, good pharmacy practice is the "practice of pharmacy that responds to the needs of the people who use the pharmacists’ services to provide optimal, evidence-based care."
The guidelines recommend that national pharmacy professional organizations consider the following roles for pharmacists:
Prepare, obtain,
store, secure, distribute, administer, dispense, and dispose of
medical products,
