Esteve and the Spanish Society of Community Pharmacy (SEFAC) have signed an agreement whereby both entities will collaborate in the development of a program of activities to foster and implement a treatment adherence plan in community pharmacies over the next two years. With this alliance, Esteve –which has its Center for Drug Discovery and Preclinical Development at PCB - reaffirms its commitment to provide answers to medical needs not covered properly.

Both entities will work together to implement programs devoted to strengthen chronic and polymedicated patient adherence to treatment in community pharmacies The actions launched in the framework of this plan will seek to develop and complement the goals set in the Treatment Adherence Plan prepared by scientific societies and patient associations with the support of Farmaindustria. SEFAC was one of the societies to actively participate in the preparation of this Plan.

The agreement was signed by Jesús C. Gómez, president of SEFAC; Eugeni Sedano, director of Institutional Relations at Esteve; and Joe Sullivan, managing director of EsteveFarma.

According to SEFAC presidentJesús C. Gómez, “community pharmacists play a vital role in improving adherence to treatment in collaboration with the rest of health professionals. This is so on account of their knowledge of medicines, their proximity and accessibility, and their close relationship with patients and caregivers”. In addition, “pharmacists can control whether or not the patient is well aware of his/her treatment and knows how to take it as prescribed, and can also detect therapy-related problems such as dropouts”. 

For his part, Joe Sullivan, managing director of Esteve Farma, emphasized “Esteve’s commitment to chronicity and to the creation and development of useful tools to help health professionals —community pharmacists in this case — in their daily tasks of treating and caring for chronic patients. The purpose is to enhance the pharmacist’s role and the assistance they can bring to the chronic patient. This plan will contribute to increase control over these patients, which in turn will benefit the patients themselves and the system”. 

For this plan to be implemented, Esteve and SEFAC will launch a number of actions, starting with the design, validation and dissemination of fact sheets with recommendations on adherence guidelines for the population. Messages will be specifically directed to complex, higher-risk patients. Another initiative will consist in developing an algorithm of proceedings in the pharmacy to establish an agreed methodology for the collection and exploitation of adherence data. All will seek to develop and complement the goals set in the Treatment Adherence Plan signed by scientific societies with the support of Farmaindustria. 

From then on, this plan will also address the launch of capacity-building programs in pharmacies for chronic and polymedicated patients, promote the use of technologies, and bring support to patient associations.