News
14 June 2007
European Pharmacists Forum goes to Russia
The second European Pharmacists Forum of 2007 was held in Moscow for the first time on 14 and 15 June 2007. The two-day seminar involved a programme of tours, presentations and interactive discussions as well as a debate on the Russian Market.
On the first day, delegates were given a tour in the morning of Alliance Healthcare Russia's Moscow warehouse and a visit to local pharmacies. The seminar itself started in the afternoon, introduced by Elvire Kuyck, EPF President. Alliance Healthcare Russia's Country Manager Sergey Perminov followed with an overview of the Russian business - covering the company's history, its regional structure and its objectives for the future. Demidov Nikolay Valerievich (President of Pharmaexpert) then gave a presentation on the current state of the Russian pharmaceutical market.
For the last part of the day's programme, the delegates were joined by participants who are not EPF members - including a delegation from the Russian Ministry of Health as well as a number of press representatives and Alliance Healthcare Russia pharmacist customers. Ornella Barra presented on current pharmaceutical market trends and the importance of the role of wholesale in the healthcare value chain. Elvire Kuyck then gave a presentation on the work of the EPF which was followed by a talk from Leonid Marianovsky, Director Counsellor of the Federal Compulsory Healthcare Insurance Fund, on the role of his organisation within the Russian healthcare system. The topics covered were then addressed in more detail during a lively interactive debate, moderated by Ornella Barra and Elvire Kuyck. In summary, Elvire Kuyck expressed appreciation for the quality of the discussion and emphasised the advantages for independent pharmacists of joining a virtual chain and benefiting from the assistance of wholesalers. Ornella Barra agreed that the exchange of experiences had been helpful in providing an excellent introduction to a developing country that offered genuine opportunities.
On day two of the seminar, Ornella Barra began with an update on the latest news from across Alliance Boots. In her presentation, she reiterated that the overall strategy of the Group will remain the same following the acquisition of the Group by AB Acquisitions, and confirmed that the Group now plans to develop at a faster pace in order to take advantage of the many fantastic opportunities that are available today. Attendees then took part in a group discussion session and debate focusing on the previous day's presentations on the Russian healthcare market.
Dr Grace Lomax (Managing Director of Health Information) presented on "How you can increase compliance by working with our pharmacists". In her presentation, Dr Lomax explained the importance of the pharmacist's role in improving levels of compliance - referring to a study showing that between 40% and 70% of patients stop taking their treatment completely within 12 months following the prescription. Her talk was followed by a question and answer session in which delegates discussed a number of related issues including ways in which the pharmacist can assist in terms of patient safety.
Concluding the seminar, delegates from member countries gave a series of updates on pharmacy markets in Italy, Spain, Portugal and France. Ornella Barra noted that a trend towards deregulation seems apparent across Europe as a whole and that, going forward, pharmacies may have to adapt to and anticipate this potential change.
