September 23, 2024

World Pharmacists Day: Statement from WPC 
“Pharmacists: Meeting global health needs”

The theme of this year’s World Pharmacists Day, 25th September, is “Pharmacists: Meeting global health needs”. The WPC encourages its member organisations to support World Pharmacists Day 2024, and in doing so, to demonstrate how we as community pharmacists are meeting global health needs, and can meet even more of those needs into the future.

WPC President Douglas Hoey said: “On World Pharmacists Day, as on every other day, the World Pharmacy Council and its national member organisations celebrate and salute the outstanding efforts and achievements of all pharmacists around the world. Properly resourced and with their skills and scope of practice fully recognized, community pharmacists stand ready to meet even more of each country’s health needs than they do now. The WPC and its members will continue to promote change that will unlock that full potential, leading the way to more accessible, efficient and resilient healthcare systems for the benefit of patients and communities worldwide.”

The significant advancements in the recognition and practice of community pharmacy in recent years have created a vast evidence base showing how pharmacies and pharmacists can contribute more to health systems. Some examples of these advancements in WPC member countries have included:

The introduction of pharmacy-led primary care clinics in Nova Scotia, Canada, which has already led to a significant reduction in emergency room visits for non-urgent or less-urgent cases. The 185,000 services provided (up to April 2024) have included assessment and prescribing, injection and immunization, chronic disease care, mental health and addiction services. Data also shows that more that the province of Ontario has recorded more than more than one million minor ailment assessments since pharmacists' scope of practice was expanded in January 2023.
 
In Australia, the success of programs such as the Urinary Tract Infection Pharmacy Pilot in Queensland has led the way for rapid enablement of pharmacist scope of practice, with the government of the most populous state (New South Wales) recently enabling pharmacists to provide treatment for a broader range of common and mild conditions, including ear infections, nausea and vomiting, reflux, acne, muscle pain and wound management.
 
In Ireland, pharmacists were granted the authority in September 2024 to extend prescription durations from 6 to 12 months, where clinically appropriate. Additionally, in August 2024, the Minister for Health announced that - beginning next year - pharmacists will be able to prescribe medications for eight conditions, including shingles, allergic rhinitis, conjunctivitis, and UTIs.
 
In many countries local community pharmacies have become the destination of choice for influenza and COVID-19 immunization, and are also now also contributing to greater accessibility and immunization rates for other vaccines such as those protecting against RSV, pneumococcal and meningococcal infections as well as childhood vaccination programmes.

As part of Portugal’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the “Operação Luz Verde” (Green Light Operation) was launched to allow access to hospital medicines through community pharmacies. After the State of Emergency, this new regulatory framework was extended and studies have shown that the changes promote better access and satisfaction, ensure the persistence of treatments, promote savings for citizens, and reduce the burden on healthcare services.

Notwithstanding advancements such as these, it cannot be overlooked that community pharmacies in several WPC member countries are buckling under strain from external forces and limitations. Funding for core activities, including the essential professional service of dispensing medicines safely and appropriately, is insufficient and not keeping up with inflation. This has resulted in reduced patient access to community pharmacies in these countries, and reductions to the services they provide as pharmacies close or limit their operations. On top of the financial pressure, community pharmacists are spending more and more time managing the continuity of treatments for patients due to the ever-increasing frequency of medicine shortages.

As we navigate the complexities and demands of healthcare, the potential of community pharmacies remains largely untapped. On World Pharmacists Day 2024, the WPC calls on healthcare leaders around the world to secure the viability of community pharmacies and unlock their full potential for the benefit of patients and health systems globally.

The WPC acknowledges and thanks the International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP) as the organizers of World Pharmacists Day 2024. 

Website designed and managed by:

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.

Contact us

Website designed and managed by