To: All IPU Employee Members From: Secretary General Date: 1 May No. 4 2015 From: Date: 1 May 2015 NOTE FROM THE SECRETARY GENERAL The new mandatory CPD regime for pharmacists is taking shape as its full implementation gets ever closer. The draft Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland (Continuing Professional Development) Rules 2015 have been published and are now out for consultation. The draft rules formalise the setting up of the Irish Institute of Pharmacy (IIoP) and set out exactly how the Institute will interact with the PSI, with CPD and course providers and with pharmacists, all of whom will automatically become members, and who will be bound by the provisions for reporting on CPD activity, subject to practice review and liable for another fee. The Rules establish the IIoP to implement the CPD system required by the Pharmacy Act. The IIoP will be hosted by a “managing body”, currently the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, and subject to the policy direction of the PSI Council. The IIoP will be run by an Executive Director. This is the “arm’s length” arrangement we have long been told the PSI would operate. When it comes to the recognition and approval of CPD programmes and courses, the PSI Council shall “determine, approve and publish criteria” for approval. However, once the criteria are determined, the PSI does not seem to trust its own Institute to apply those criteria. The role of the IIoP’s Executive Director is simply to evaluate applications and make a recommendation to the Registrar of the PSI as to whether the course meets the criteria. It’s the Registrar who grants or withholds recognition and approval. Suddenly that “arm’s length” is getting a lot shorter. The Rules set out our obligation as pharmacists to undertake CPD which shall be “systematic, self-directed and needs-based and be outcomes-focused, based on a process of continual learning and development with application in [our] professional practice” as pharmacists. That’s a lot of words which I presume mean keeping ourselves up to date with relevant knowledge and skills which we can use at work, focusing on the areas where we think we are weaker. Use of the PSI’s Core Competency Framework for Pharmacists is mandatory, as is the IIoP’s e-portfolio. You’re out of luck if you prefer recording your CPD on paper. There will be regular reviews of our CPD portfolios (20% per year, chosen at random) and some of us (approx. 2% per year, chosen at random from the 20% having their portfolios reviewed) will have “practice reviews” in the form of clinical exams. If we are deemed not to meet the required standard in the exam, the IIoP must enable us to address the identified deficiency in knowledge, skills or judgement and offer up to two further practice reviews. A pharmacist whose standards don’t improve following that intervention may have a complaint made against them under the Pharmacy Act. So, effectively, there will be up to three bites of the carrot before we get the stick. However, something sinister has crept in here. The PSI Council or the Registrar can refer pharmacists for a practice review if they consider their ability or competence to be deficient. Clearly, the Council would identify such a deficiency through the formal fitness-topractise process, but the Registrar? How will that decision be made? On what grounds? What will be the mechanism and the appeal process? Where is the justice in one individual having the power to potentially subject a pharmacist to practice review on a whim? That “arm’s length” now looks like a fingertip. Another rule jumped out at me: number 12, which says the PSI Council can levy a fee on all pharmacists to fund the IIoP. The fees we pay to the PSI are already among the highest in the world and now they want us to pay more? Surely they could use some of their annual surplus (€1.94m in 2012 and €0.70m in 2013) to pay for it? I have not come across anyone who thinks that CPD is a bad idea. Pharmacists have long embraced continuing education. This is demonstrated by the engagement with the former Irish Centre for Continuing Pharmaceutical Education and, since the demise of the ICCPE, by the enthusiastic participation in IPU Academy learning events and attendance at the various sessions at the IPU Conference. We all want to keep our knowledge and skills up-to-date and to provide a professional dependable service to our patients. However, we must avoid CPD becoming another box-ticking, money-raising exercise in which our primary concern is keeping the PSI off our backs. CPD could and should be about development of our personal professional standards and full engagement in our chosen profession. If implemented well, it builds engagement, satisfaction and motivation. Done wrongly, it will breed dissatisfaction and resentment. Which do we want for our profession? The draft Rules are out for public consultation. Own your profession. Make your voice heard. Send in your submission. Regards, 1. PROFESSIONAL a. IPU Academy Webinars In April, IPU Academy in association with MSD hosted two national webinars on the subject of Inflammatory Bowel Disease and the Management of Stroke. Both of these webinars complemented topics in the live learning spring programme. A recorded version of both webinars, along with an eLearning version of each live learning topic in the spring programme is now available on the IPU Academy learning management system (LMS). b. PSI (Continuing Professional Development) Rules 2015 The PSI has published, as part of the new CPD system, a draft statutory instrument relating to CPD for pharmacists. The IPU will, of course, be making a submission but we would encourage all members to respond to the consultation by completing the online questionnaire. The consultations section of the PSI website contains all relevant information and links to the draft rules and the questionnaire. The closing date for submissions is 5pm on Monday, 18 May. c. Education Meeting The Asthma Society of Ireland and COPD Support Ireland are holding an education meeting for healthcare professionals. Topic: ‘Dealing with Asthma and Allergic Rhinitis’ Date: Thursday 7 May Venue: Clarion Hotel, Liffey Valley, Dublin Registration from 5.30pm, dinner at 6pm and presentations will commence at 7pm. Please email [email protected] to register for this event. d. Suspected Stolen Rx Pads 1. St Luke’s Hospital The IPU has been notified of a suspected stolen Rx pad from St Luke’s Hospital. The Rx pad numbers are 18201-18250. Should a Rx from St Lukes’ Hospital be presented to you and you are not satisfied that it is authentic or if the serial number on the Rx comes within the range of the numbers specified above, please contact the pharmacy department in St Luke’s Radiation Oncology Centre, Dublin, on 01 420 6903 for verification. 2. Northdoc Medical Services Limited We have been notified by Northdoc Medical Services that three prescriptions from an alleged stolen Rx pad have been presented to pharmacists. The Rx were all handwritten and, as the pad is a couple of years old, the Rx format is an older style. The Rx pad numbers are 110601-110700. If a Rx from Northdoc Medical Services Limited is presented to you and you are not satisfied that it is authentic or if the serial number on the Rx comes within the range of the numbers specified above, please contact 01 872 7438, fax 01 8726954 or email [email protected]. 3. Beaumont Hospital The IPU has been notified of a suspected stolen Rx pad from Beaumont Hospital. The Rx pad serial numbers are 447276-447300. Should a Rx from Beaumont Hospital be presented to you and you are not satisfied that it is authentic or if the serial number on the Rx comes within the range of the numbers specified above, please contact Beaumont Hospital, Dublin on 01 852 8458 for verification. 2. TRAINING Business Training in May – Supercharge Your Sales Our 6 May workshop has been cancelled. Places on the 18 May workshop are limited so booking early is a must. Specifically aimed at owners and managers, this one-day workshop has been designed to help you to make practical decisions about your Brand DNA, point of differentiation and customer proposition. Drawing from best practices around the world, this one-day programme will help you to hold up the mirror to re-look at your business and plan for improvements on how to give consistent great service and increase your sales. Further information and an application form is available on www.ipu.ie > Training & Events > Courses Available > Supercharge Your Sales. 3. PRODUCT FILE INFORMATION a. Ovranette Reimbursement Change effective 1 June Pfizer has confirmed that from 1 June, Ovranette 150mcg/30mcg Tablets (levonorgestrel/ ethinylestradiol) 21s (GMS code: 66664) will no longer be covered on the GMS, DPS or LTI scheme. Ovranette will continue to be available on the market with the trade price due to increase from 1 June. We advise you to manage your stocks carefully over the next few weeks. b. HSE Urinary and Ostomy Products Reimbursement Review Following the conclusion of the HSE PCRS review of reimbursed Urinary and Ostomy products and the publication of price changes for a number of existing Urinary and Ostomy products in April, the HSE PCRS has now notified us of additional price reductions effective 1 May. These changes will be included on the May IPU Product File Updates. To date, the HSE PCRS has not advised us of any new products to be added to the Urinary and Ostomy reimbursement list. As the HSE only provided us with the list of the products affected at 4.30pm last Friday, 24 April, we have not yet verified all the prices with the suppliers. 4. COMMUNICATIONS a. IPU National Pharmacy Conference 2015 There was a great turnout at the recent IPU National Pharmacy Conference and we hope that you all enjoyed the event. A full report on the Conference will be included with the June issue of the IPU Review. If you didn’t attend this year’s Conference, we would love to know why. Feedback or any queries can be sent to [email protected]. b. Pharmacy in the Media A press release was issued at the beginning of April, warning parents not to give codeinecontaining medicines to children to treat coughs and colds. Media coverage was received in the Daily Mail, the Irish Sun and the Evening Echo. Bernard Duggan was interviewed on this issue on several provincial radio stations and the story was covered widely in the provincial media. The Director of Communications and Strategy was interviewed on the ‘Down to Business’ Show on Newstalk. The IPU National Pharmacy Conference generated a large amount of media coverage for the IPU at the end of the month. Press releases were issued over the weekend, which covered topics such as the results of the recent B&A survey on attitudes towards pharmacy, call for EHC to be available to women with Medical Cards directly from their pharmacy free of charge, call for the expansion of vaccination services in pharmacies and call for reversal of FEMPI legislation. There was a large amount of national media coverage, with a number of journalists in attendance at the conference. Interviews were carried out for national and regional radio including an interview with President Kathy Maher on Newstalk's Pat Kenny Show. The conference was also mentioned on TV3. There was considerable print media with coverage included in The Irish Times, The Irish Examiner, Irish Daily Mirror, The Irish Sun, Irish Daily Star, Irish Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday. The Secretary General was quoted in the Sunday Business Post in relation to an item titled, Drug Companies Defy HSE Move to Slash Prices. c. New IPU Website The Irish Pharmacy Union website, www.ipu.ie, has been redesigned and redeveloped to better meet the requirements of the organisation by making progressive use of current and advancing technologies as well as complementing the IPU’s recent rebranding exercise. For your security, your password has been reset to your original membership password – these were issued by post. Please note that all other passwords remain unchanged. As well as an improved Search function, there is a new, intuitive layout. We’ve tried to make the new look IPU website as informative and functional for your everyday business as we can. We hope you like it. 5. PHARMACY BENEVOLENT FUND (PBF) NEWS Save the Date – The PBF Annual Awards will be held on 21 November at the Mansion House, Dublin. 31 May is the closing date for entry to the 2015 PBF Draw. The subscription is €250. Cheques should be made payable to ‘Pharmacy Benevolent Fund Ltd’ and posted to Pharmacy Benevolent Fund Draw, c/o 3 Rossmore Avenue, Dublin 6W. If you wish to pay by credit or debit card please donate via the mycharity.ie page; the link to this page can be accessed by clicking the mycharity button on www.pbf.ie. Please donate €250, mark your donation “draw” and include your name with the donation so that you can be included in the draw. The PBF is struggling to meet ends meet, so please support it if you can. from a selection of more than 50 hotels – all approved by Fáilte Ireland or the Northern Ireland Tourist Board. The IPU and Countdown have weekend or midweek breaks starting at just €39.50pps and children always stay free – accommodation for up to two children aged 10 and under is free when sharing a family room with two adults. To book your break log on to www.countdownhotelbreaks.ie. Thank you for your continued support and, as ever, please keep us informed on any issues of concern to you. Kind regards, The Draw at the IPU President’s Dinner on 25 April raised €6,000 for the PBF. 6. IPU MEMBERSHIP BENEFITS As an IPU member, you have access to a range of discounts on services and products. Fancy a break away with the family or maybe a romantic get-away? Why not treat yourself to 3 or 4 star hotel breaks across Ireland and choose _______________________ Darragh J O’Loughlin, Secretary General. This communication is the property of the Irish Pharmacy Union (IPU). The contents of this communication are confidential to IPU members and should not be forwarded to a third party. If you receive this communication in error, please return to the IPU. ©2015 Copyright. All Rights Reserved, Irish Pharmacy Union.
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