ISSN 0377-9556 (PRINT)
ISSN 2383-9457 (ONLINE)
ISSN 2383-9457 (ONLINE)
PGEU policies for local pharmacists to provide digital pharmacy services28,29)
| Goal | Policy recommendations |
|---|---|
| Providing reliable digital healthcare slutions | • Working with healthcare professionals, including community pharmacists, to develop digital health policies and services at the local or national level as appropriate for implementation • Educating patients to manage their data and connect with healthcare professionals • Ensuring equity in healthcare by providing lasting solutions for patients with limited digital literacy or limited access to the Internet and digital tools. • Providing education on digital use within the pharmacy curriculum and continuing education/continuous professional development programs |
| Helping community pharmacists become a trusted source of health information | • Enable pharmacists to access and update shared electronic health records as needed to identify and address potential drug and patient safety issues • Helping pharmacists record real-world data in their day-to-day operations and connect pharmacies with patients as data holders and consumers within the European health data space infrastructure • Continued investment by pharmacists in digital health infrastructure and adequate compensation for local pharmacy services |
| Using Big Data and AI | • Linking electronic health records with electronic prescription systems and record patient medical data with patient consent • Facilitating data exchange across healthcare facilities and interoperability of European information systems • Ensuring transparency of information with clear standards, professional and ethical requirements and binding evaluation criteria • Facilitating collaboration among various healthcare professionals and promoting integration of primary care systems • Ensuring training in AI technologies and approaches from undergraduate through to the appropriate hands-on environment |
| Building trust in the use and reuse of medical data | • Ensuring a high level of data security by building a reliable infrastructure • Data access and analysis comply with European standards for privacy and data protection • Compliance with ethical principles • Create governance structures that ensure transparency and oversee data use and reuse |
| Consumer protection for cross-border online pharmaceutical and digital healthcare delivery within the EU market | • Digital Services Act “What is illegal offline is also illegal online” • Protect consumers and public health by strengthening the accountability of online service providers and drug delivery platforms and rapidly detecting and remediing illegal activity • Expanding the scope of e-commerce – drafting guidelines to apply to online suppliers outside the EU who offer products, including pharmaceuticals, online to European consumers • Collaborate with pharmacist organizations to take active action against markets that do not respect regulations and legal requirements |
PGEU, pharmaceutical group of the European Union; AI, artificial intelligence; EU, European Union