Organised by FIP’s Social and Administrative Pharmacy Section, in collaboration with the Community Pharmacy Section and the Health and Medicines Information Section

Chair

Yejide Oseni (Pharmacists Council of Nigeria, Nigeria)

Introduction

Technology, which was first developed to facilitate communication, has now grown into a global network of computer systems that link multiple platforms and create interrelationships between governments, academic institutions, businesses and consumers. Implementing healthcare based on information system and technologies (e.g. e-health) had been proposed as a way to improve health services. Hence, the scope of pharmacy practice has expanded to the provision of pharmaceutical services via the internet.

The World Health Organization had called on its member states to tighten control on the sales of medical products through the internet. Since drugs are regulated products and the need for consideration of ethical issues in access to medicines is important, these expanded services have both advantages and disadvantages, hence the need for the establishment of regulatory framework, if their advantages are to outweigh the risk associated with it, in the long run.

Programme

Learning Objectives