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Current Development and Implementation of EuroPharm Forum Projects in Croatian Community Pharmacy

Introduction Croatia gained independence in 1991, its whole health care system has been greatly changed. Changes occuring in pharmacy were in part identical to those in other Central European countries in transition, while differences were mainly due to a more liberal legislation as well as to former war conditions. The current status (about 650 community pharmacies, 40% of which are in the private and 60% in the stated owned status) includes Croatia into the group of countries with a well-developed pharmacy network (1 pharmacy per 7, 300 inhabitants), and also with an increasing number of private pharmacies. Further development of community pharmacy will be influenced by the passing of comprehensive legislation on pharmaceutical activity, business changes and privatization of health insurance funds, intensified privatization of the remaining state-owned pharmacies, additional graduate and post-graduate education of pharmacists for adjustment to market conditions and the new role of pharmacists in the health care system. The status of community pharmacy in Croatia was in detail reported at the 57th FIP Congress in Vancouver (M. Jakševac-Mikša et al., Development, organisation and financing of community pharmacy in Croatia). Status report and future actions of EuroPharm Forum projects in Croatia Currently, Croatia is interested in and is in the position to implement three of the five main EuroPharm Forum projects: Smoking cessation, Questions about your medicines and Diabetes care program. In view of these projects we have made some steps and progress. During the last period we informed our community pharmacists about EuroPharm Forum projects and their importance for our professionthrough numerous presentations and publishing of all relevant information about EuroPharm Forum Meetings in our professional journal “Farmaceutski glasnik”. Croatian Pharmaceutical Society has organized continous education courses for all community pharmacists (about 1200 participants) that covered specific topics under the title “The role of pharmacists in self-medication”. Courses are running now. The aim of the courses is to provide an additional and necessary knowledge for patient counseling and to prepare pharmacist for their new, comprehensive role with patients. For the next step we are planning to involve about twenty pharmacies in the pilot program of Croatian QaM campaigne and we are preparing for its start in the middle of 1998. Following the Fourth meeting for the implementation of the St. Vincent Declaration (Lisbon, February 26 to March 1, 1997) Croatian pharmacists are included into the Initiative committee for development of the national program of protection from diabetes mellitus. We prepared the CRO Pharmadia Program in accordance with directions of the EuroPharm Forum Pharmadia Program, and it was well accepted. The proclamation and general discussion of the National program will be held on November 14 of this year. Conclusion We are aware of the fact that Croatian pharmacy currently passes throught a very hard period in its professional adjustment to the new role of pharmacists in the health care system, with legislative limitation in Croatia, but we are trying to follow up our European colleagues and to learn from their experiences and to raise Croatian pharmacy to European standards.

EuroPharm Forum Projects; Croatian Pharmaceutical Programs; Community Pharmacy in Croatia

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