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Healthcare
workers, including doctors, pharmacists and nurses, are attending daily to
the needs of Europe’s COVID-19 patients. Those patients requiring intubation
also need to follow a concomitant therapy for which the use of anaesthetics,
antibiotics and muscle relaxants is essential. Also, other supportive
medicines needed in intensive care units, like resuscitation, respiratory and
cardiac medicines, analgesics, medicines for thromboprophylaxis as well as
medical nutrition and large volume parenterals are indispensable. The demand
for these medicines has significantly increased in the past weeks, in
particular in countries heavily affected by the pandemic.
In light of growing
demand for certain types of medicines, issues linked to shortages have
aggravated. In combination with transportation and export barriers between
countries, lower production in Europe and supply problems for medicines and
active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) sourced outside of Europe, treatment
options are becoming more and more limited in certain regions. We
consequently encourage European countries to adopt measures similar to those
taken in France and the Netherlands, where stock levels for medicines needed
for the treatment of COVID-19 patients are being monitored and allocated
according to need by the national hospital pharmacy association/with the help
of a dedicated application. Only knowledge about the situation can help
safeguard the adequate distribution of stocks among hospitals in accordance
with the number of patients they are serving.
We welcome the efforts
that are being undertaken by our colleagues across Europe in search of a
treatment for the coronavirus. Physicians and pharmacists, in general, shall
follow the principles of evidence-based medicine. Therefore, we ask our
colleagues to closely monitor and evaluate emerging clinical and research
data to make use of evidence informed practices when weighing the risks and
benefits for each individual case, in particular when using medications for
an unapproved indication. Also, we urge those colleagues, that have the
capacity, to participate in research activities to facilitate the generation
and sharing of the much needed evidence for the optimisation of treatment for
COVID-19 patients. Concerning the recourse to treatment options already
licensed for indications other than the treatment of COVID-19 patients, we
also would like to raise additional concerns. We call on our colleagues as
well as on national governments and competent authorities to ensure that
stockpiling and anticipatory orders for certain medicines used currently off
label in COVID-19 patients do not affect the treatment of patients already
taking these medications.
Given the need for
European-wide collaboration, we appreciate the steps that are being taken by
the EU authorities, in particular those that increase the involvement of the
European Medicines Agency (EMA) to support the availability of medicines used
in the COVID-19 pandemic. Besides letting EMA become a central coordinator,
we would also like to encourage national governments and competent
authorities to take the necessary measures that go beyond mere exchange which
will guarantee the availability of essential medicines throughout the Union.
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The list of the organisations signing the
statement:
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The European Association for Senior Hospital Physicians (AEMH)
provides a European platform for hospital physicians, which develops and
maintains a spirit of cooperation and communication among its national member
delegations, improving the understanding of the different health systems. It
encourages the exchange of ideas and experiences and promotes discussion
among doctors, patients and politicians with the major objective of promoting
health and improving patient safety. More information about AEMH is available
under https://www.aemh.org/
·
The European Association of Hospital Pharmacists (EAHP)
is a not-for-profit organisation that defends the interests of more than
23.000 European hospital pharmacists from its 35 member organisations. EAHP
works to develop knowledge on hospital pharmacy to ease the improvement of
care and outcomes for patients in the hospital setting. The Association
achieves this through science, practice, research, education, as well as
sharing best-practice and responsibility with other healthcare professionals.
More information about EAHP is available under https://www.eahp.eu/
·
The European Society of Clinical Pharmacy (ESCP)
is an international leader in advancing quality and innovation in clinical
pharmacy education, practice and research. It is an organization that
promotes, supports, implements and advances education, practice and research
in clinical pharmacy in order to optimize outcomes for patients and society.
More information about ESCP is available under https://www.escpweb.org/
·
The European Society of Oncology Pharmacy (ESOP),
founded in 2000 in Prague, is the largest organization of oncology
pharmacists in the world with a membership of approx. 3.500 members from 62
countries. The aim of ESOP is to support optimal treatment for cancer
patients. In order to achieve this aim, ESOP offers a high-quality further
education, guidelines and ongoing development of practices in all parts of
oncology pharmacy. More information about ESOP is available under https://esop.li/
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That have the capacity, to participate in research activities to facilitate the generation and sharing of the much needed evidence for the espiar wasap optimisation of treatment for COVID-19 patients. Concerning the recourse to treatment options already
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