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To ensure the sustainability of pharmacy practice and provide health for all, pharmacy as a profession must embrace the digital transformation that has been changing healthcare at a rapid pace. The International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP) has conducted a global study on digital health in pharmacy education to describe the readiness, adaptability, and responsiveness of pharmacy education programmes to train the current and future pharmaceutical workforce on digital health and to identify the knowledge and skill gaps of the existing pharmaceutical workforce with regard to digital health. An online survey was distributed to collect feedback from academics, pharmacy schools, pharmacists, and pharmacy students. The findings showed that a large proportion of pharmacy schools do not offer any digital health education, and the skillsets and knowledge of how to apply digital health technologies to solve existing clinical problems and improve care have been identified as a gap. The future of pharmacy and pharmaceutical sciences is digital and exciting. A digitally enabled and agile pharmaceutical workforce will capitalise on the benefits of digital health to serve the higher purpose of providing good health and wellbeing for all, leaving no one behind. Therefore, pharmacy and pharmaceutical sciences education should act now.

Child-appropriate medicines are essential for the safe and effective treatment of children, yet we have observed a large gap in the data required to adequately monitor access to these medicines. We have examined data on the availability and pricing of child-appropriate medicines across 50 surveys. Child-appropriate medicines for nine out of 12 priority diseases in children were infrequently surveyed or not at all. A similar data deficit on age-appropriate medicines is detectable in the broader scientific literature. We also note that existing instruments for collecting data on the availability or prices of medicines are limited in their ability to generate the required data for children. We have identified four priorities as key for improved monitoring of access to medicines for children: (i) dedicated child medicine surveys are needed on availability and prices of child-appropriate medicines; (ii) standardized survey instruments should include age-appropriate medicines and dosages; (iii) health facility service readiness survey tools should include the collection of data on the price of child-appropriate medicines in addition to the availability of medicines; and (iv) sustainable development goal indicator 3.b.3 should be modified to enable the monitoring of access to medicines for children. These deficiencies need to be addressed to ensure the monitoring of access to child medicines as part of the sustainable development goal agenda for 2030 and to implement appropriate interventions for improving access for this vulnerable population. Disposer de medicaments adaptes aux enfants est essentiel a l'administration d'un traitement sur et efficace. Pourtant, nous avons observe de vastes lacunes dans les donnees requises pour evaluer l'acces a ces medicaments. Nous avons passe 50 enquetes au crible, a la recherche d'informations sur la disponibilite et le prix des medicaments pediatriques. Dans le cas de neufmaladies infantiles prioritaires sur douze, les medicaments adaptes aux enfants n'etaient pas ou peu etudies. Meme constat dans le contexte plus large de la litterature scientifique. Nous avons egalement remarque que les instruments servant a recolter des donnees sur la disponibilite ou le prix des medicaments avaient leurs limites et ne permettaient pas d'obtenir les informations requises concernant les enfants. Nous avons identifie quatre priorites majeures en vue d'ameliorer la surveillance de l'acces aux medicaments pediatriques: (i) la realisation d'enquetes sur les medicaments pediatriques afin d'en connaitre la disponibilite et le prix; (ii) l'integration des medicaments et dosages adequats dans les instruments d'enquete standard; (iii) outre la disponibilite, la prise en compte du prix des medicaments a usage pediatrique dans les outils d'evaluation de l'etat de preparation des services au sein des etablissements de sante; et enfin, (iv) la modification de l'indicateur 3.b.3 des objectifs de developpement durable, qui prevoirait des lors un controle de l'acces aux medicaments adaptes aux enfants. Ces lacunes doivent etre comblees pour assurer un suivi en matiere d'acces aux medicaments pediatriques dans le cadre du Programme de developpement durable a l'horizon 2030, mais aussi pour adopter les mesures correspondantes afin d'ameliorer la prise en charge de cette population vulnerable. Los medicamentos indicados para los ninos son esenciales para su tratamiento seguro y eficaz, pero se ha observado un gran vacio en los datos necesarios para supervisar de manera adecuada el acceso a estos medicamentos. Se han analizado los datos sobre la disponibilidad y el precio de los medicamentos indicados para los ninos en 50 encuestas. Estos medicamentos para nueve de las 12 enfermedades prioritarias infantiles se encuestaron con poca frecuencia o no se encuestaron en absoluto. En la literatura cientifica mas general, se detecta un deficit de datos similar sobre los medicamentos adecuados para la edad. Tambien se observa que los instrumentos existentes para recopilar los datos sobre la disponibilidad o los precios de los medicamentos son limitados en su capacidad para generar los datos necesarios en el caso de los ninos. Se han identificado cuatro prioridades para mejorar el seguimiento del acceso a los medicamentos pediatricos: (i) se necesitan encuestas especificas sobre la disponibilidad y los precios de los medicamentos indicados para los ninos; (ii) los instrumentos de encuesta estandarizados deben incluir medicamentos y dosis adecuados para la edad; (iii) las herramientas de encuesta sobre la disponibilidad de los servicios sanitarios deben incluir la recopilacion de los datos sobre el precio de los medicamentos indicados para los ninos, ademas de la disponibilidad de los medicamentos; y (iv) el indicador 3.b.3 del Objetivo de Desarrollo Sostenible se debe modificar para permitir el seguimiento del acceso a los medicamentos pediatricos. Es preciso solucionar estas deficiencias para garantizar el seguimiento del acceso a los medicamentos pediatricos como parte de la agenda de los objetivos de desarrollo sostenible para 2030 y aplicar las intervenciones adecuadas para mejorar el acceso de esta poblacion vulnerable., Introduction The importance of access to available and affordable essential medicines for all is embodied in targets 3.8 and 3.b of the sustainable development goals (SDGs) and remains a priority [...]

Introduction: The large number of deaths among children with HIV is driven by poor antiretroviral treatment (ART) coverage among this cohort. The aim of the study was to assess the availability and stock‐outs of paediatric and adult ART formulations in Kenya and Uganda across various regions and types of health facilities. Methods: A survey on availability and stock‐outs of paediatric ART at health facilities was adapted from the standardized Health Action International–WHO Medicine Availability Monitoring Tool. All preferred and limited‐use formulations, and three phased‐out formulations according to the 2021 WHO optimal formulary list were included in the survey, as well as a selection of adult ART formulations suitable for older children, adolescents, and adults. Availability data were collected in June–July 2022 and stock‐out data were obtained over the previous year from randomly selected public and private‐not‐for‐profit (PNFP) facilities registered to dispense paediatric ART across six districts per country. All data were analysed descriptively. Results: In total, 144 health facilities were included (72 per country); 110 were public and 34 PNFP facilities. Overall availabilities of preferred paediatric ART formulations were 52.2% and 63.5% in Kenya and Uganda, respectively, with dolutegravir (DTG) 10 mg dispersible tablets being available in 70.2% and 77.4% of facilities, respectively, and abacavir/lamivudine dispersible tablets in 89.8% and 98.2% of facilities. Of note, availability of both formulations was low (37.5% and 62.5%, respectively) in Kenyan PNFP facilities. Overall availabilities of paediatric limited‐use products were 1.1% in Kenya and 1.9% in Uganda. At least one stock‐out of a preferred paediatric ART formulation was reported in 40.0% of Kenyan and 74.7% of Ugandan facilities. Nevirapine solution stock‐outs were reported in 43.1% of Ugandan facilities, while alternative formulations for postnatal HIV prophylaxis were not available. Conclusions: Recommended DTG‐based first‐line ART for children across all ages was reasonably available at health facilities in Kenya and Uganda, with the exception of Kenyan PNFP facilities. Availability of paediatric ART formulations on the limited‐use list was extremely low across both countries. Stock‐outs were reported regularly, with the high number of reported stock‐outs of neonatal ART formulations in Uganda being most concerning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: To gain insight in the uptake and practice variation in the prescription of 2 new medicine groups for common conditions in primary care (direct‐acting oral anticoagulants [DOACs] and incretin‐based therapies) from introduction, around 2007, to 2019 and the correlation between the adoption of those medicines in primary care. Methods: Prescription data from general practices in the Dutch Nivel Primary Care Database from 2007 to 2019 were used. The percentage of patients with prescriptions for DOACs of all patients with prescriptions for DOACs and vitamin K antagonists was calculated per practice per year, as was the percentage of patients prescribed incretin‐based therapies as a proportion of all patients with diabetes medication. Multilevel models were used to estimate practice variation for DOACs and incretin‐based therapies, expressed as intraclass correlation coefficients. Linear regression analysis was used to study the association between the prescription of DOACs and incretin‐based therapies. Results: Per year, 46–424 general practices and 179 933–1 654 376 patients were included. In 2019, the mean percentage of patients per practice using DOACs or incretin‐based therapies was 54.9 and 9.7%, respectively. The intraclass correlation coefficient decreased from 0.75 to 0.024 for DOACs and from 0.33 to 0.074 for incretin‐based medicines during the study period. No clear correlation was found between the prescription of DOACs and incretin‐based therapies. Conclusion: DOACs and incretin‐based therapies have different adoption profiles and practice variation is large, especially in the years before these medicines were introduced in guidelines. Early adopters of both medicine classes differ. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]