No. 4 2015

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 michele.dunne@asthmasociety.ie
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
medical.director@northdoc.ie.
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
conference@ipu.ie.
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.