A2 - Pharmacists’ role in medical devices: From diagnosis to monitoring of therapy

Conference Hall A - Section A

Organised by FIP’s Hospital Pharmacy Section, in collaboration with the FIP SIG on Translational Research and Precision Medicine

Chairs

Jonathan Penm (The University of Sydney, Australia) and Lisa Potter (University of Chicago Medicine, USA)

Introduction

Medical devices, like medicines and other health technologies, are essential for patient care — at the bedside, at the rural health clinic or at the large, specialised hospital. With innovation and the rapid advancement of technologies, medical devices are currently one of the fastest growing industries. Pharmacists hold a unique skill set and use their skills to help patients manage their medication for optimal outcomes. Like other healthcare professionals, pharmacists are often required to deliver highly-technical language to patients in a manner that they understand. This applies both to medicines and medical devices, many of which are sold in pharmacies. However, unlike other healthcare professionals, pharmacists are also often responsible for assessing and evaluating the appropriate use of medicines based on their efficacy, safety and cost-effectiveness, through formulary management in hospitals. These same skills are readily transferable to the review of other health technologies, particularly interventional procedures and devices, as their study design and outcome measures are similar to those used for pharmacological interventions.

In addition, pharmacists’ ability to review the evidence surrounding interventions and their knowledge of procurement, distribution and clinical monitoring process, as well as financial realities associated with new technologies, makes them well suited to conducted health technology assessments (HTAs) in their local institutions. This is particularly important where national HTAs are not conducted. Furthermore, for countries that conduct HTAs on innovative technology, local review over time (after initial marketing) is still critical to respond to technological obsolescence requiring replacement, further highlighting the important role pharmacists could serve in this area.

Programme

14:30 – 14:35 Introduction by the chairs

  1. 14:35 – 15:00 Introduction to medical technology assessment – Methods and the pharmacist’s role
    Lee Vermeulen (University of Kentucky, USA)
  2. 15:00 – 15:25 Deliberative frameworks for medical technology assessment
    Harindra Wijeysundera (Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health – CADTH, Canada)
  3. 15:25 – 15:50 Safety and reporting – The pharmacists’ role in device use in primary care settings
    Claire O’Reilly (The University of Sydney, Australia)

15:50 – 16:10 Coffee/tea break

  1. 16:10 – 16:35 New technology on the horizon
    Ash Hopkins (Flinders University, Australia)
  2. 16:35 – 17:20 Fishbowl discussion with audience, plus Q&A session

17:20 – 17:25 Conclusion by the chairs

17:25 – 17:30 Room refresh

Learning Objectives

At the end of this session, participants will be able to:

  1. Describe new and emerging therapeutic devices that will influence healthcare
  2. Identify pharmacists’ role related to devices used for diagnosis and monitoring
  3. Describe the role and key steps and considerations of health technology assessments on medical devices
  4. Outline pharmacists’ role in medical device safety and health technology assessment.

Type of session: Knowledge-based