Programme

Programme Theme

Pharmacy united in the recovery of health care

At this critical time, when the challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic are still fresh in the minds of all healthcare professionals, we must create more comprehensive plans to better manage health crises that may be on the horizon. Several features of the pandemic may serve as useful springboards to develop better plans for future emergencies and accelerate change in our healthcare systems. It is our responsibility to review our shared experiences and search for solutions to advance the well-being of global communities. In creating “the new normal”, pharmacy, united together, can contribute to the recovery of our healthcare systems by building on our developments and innovations during the past two years

Congress Tracks:

Never waste a crisis Learnings for future preparedness

Although the COVID-19 pandemic is still active, stakeholders are already thinking about how to implement post-pandemic changes to healthcare delivery based on lessons learnt during the global emergency of the past two years. As an essential actor within health care, pharmacy has both shown innovation and the ability to develop solutions to support healthcare systems and patients. Examples include telepharmacy, which has enabled remote counselling of patients with non-communicable diseases. The new vaccines, and where vaccinating the public has supported our healthcare systems to operate is another example of innovation and development of solutions

Keywords: expanded scope of practice, collaborative care models, medicines shortages and supply chain interruptions, the acceleration of digital health, home deliveries, the technological development in pharmacy, accelerated regulatory changes.

Science and evidence supporting the response to COVID-19

The scope and pace of scientific development in responding to COVID-19 has been unprecedented, seeing the application of new vaccine platforms, the rapid development of new therapeutic agents and the real-time evolution of treatment guidelines. However, these developments have been paralleled by an “infodemic”, which includes intentional attempts to disseminate false information and undermine the global response to the health crisis. In a broad sense, the infodemic presents major turbulences in global information processing and management, leading to a tsunami of disinformation and misinformation from various sources. The false information has posed an extreme challenge to keeping social and economic life going. To recover from the pandemic — and the infodemic — it is imperative to understand how information is processed and beliefs are formed, offering clues to comprehend not only our current emergency, but also prepare for the unknown, foreseeable future pandemics.

Keywords: new medicines, anti-vaxxers (consider “individuals on the vaccine acceptance continuum”) and mitigating their impact on the community, unproven treatments and misrepresented science, opinion vs facts, infodemic.

Dealing with new and extraordinary ethical challenges

Healthcare systems in many countries have been challenged to contain the spread of COVID-19 and to mitigate its various consequences. The disease has presented many ethical issues both in itself and in the methods used in its management. Although the ethical principles that health care operates under are universal, a thorough understanding of the ethical difficulties posed necessitates consideration of contextual, societal and cultural factors.

Keywords: Think ethics and inequities and inequalities, medicines shortages, vaccination access, choices, cultural issues, indigenous people and minorities populations, workforce drop outs, access and sustainability.

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