ASMI 2014 Conference: Self care emerging as central to sustainable health policy
28 October 2014 – Interest in self care is growing worldwide particularly in developed economies such as the UK, Australia and the US. In the UK, momentum has been slowly building since 2000 when the National Health Service Blueprint (NHS Plan) was announced by Tony Blair.
One of the architects of self care policy in the UK, Ms Gopa Mitra MBE, will describe how the UK has advanced self care when she presents at the ASMI 2014 Conference on 18 November 2014.
Ms Mitra will explain how the Self Care Forum was set up in the UK to be the ‘voice’ for self care.
She will share the UK experience of forming the Self Care Forum and discuss key learnings for Australia as it sets up a Self Care Alliance.
“The key purpose of the UK’s Self Care Forum is to further the reach of self care and embed it into everyday life,” said Ms Mitra.
“A key element of the Forum’s strategy is to engage healthcare professionals, sharing with them ways of informing and educating patients about self care.
Equally, the Forum is engaging with consumers to help them build confidence about managing their symptoms. A key aspect of self care education is building awareness about the normal duration for particular conditions such as a cold or cough.
“If people know how long symptoms of a condition normally persist they tend to feel more confident about self-managing. We have had good outcomes in the UK in relation to patients learning how to manage their symptoms for an appropriate time period, reducing their reliance on the National Health Service (NHS).
“We also co-ordinate education campaigns to help build consumers’ awareness of signs that a condition is not improving within the accepted timeframe.
In this situation it is critical the patient seeks medical advice immediately.
“Being alert to indications that suggest something more serious is going on can lead to early detection of serious disease, the key outcome for any health service,” she added.
Ms Gopa Mitra MBE: Biographical Information
Ms Gopa Mitra is Director of Health Policy & Public Affairs at the Proprietary Association of Great Britain (PAGB), the industry association representing manufacturers of non-prescription medicines and food supplements in Great Britain.
She has successfully led the drive for self care to be an integral part of health policy to successive UK Governments. Support for the case for self care has included her work in developing the evidence base with consumer research in attitudes and behaviour in self-care and self-medication, into information in advertising as well as primary care research.
Ms Mitra is a Trustee and Vice Chair of the Men’s Health Forum and chair of their Organisational Development Group and the Royal College of General Practitioners’ Patient Partnership Group. She has also served as Trustee of DPP (Developing Patient Partnerships) and the Long-term Conditions Alliance.
Ms Mitra was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire in the Queen’s Millennium Honours List for her services to the pharmaceutical industry on 31 December 1999.
ASMI 2014 CONFERENCE EVENT DETAILS:
When: Tuesday 18 November 2014. Registration and coffee at 8.30 am
Where: Waterview Convention Centre, Sydney Olympic Park, Homebush, Sydney
Who: Delegates from all sectors of the non-prescription medicines industry are encouraged to attend
Contact: Claire Johnson, ASMI Member Events and Services Associate
02 9922 5111 | claire@asmi.com.au
‘Transforming Pharmacy’ a key theme of ASMI 2014 Conference
Gain CPD credit points at four sessions
30 October 2014 – The Australian Self Medication Industry (ASMI) today announced that four sessions at the ASMI 2014 Conference on 18 November 2014 have been accredited for CPD points and are suitable for inclusion in an individual pharmacist CPD plan.
Ms Filomena Maiese, ASMI Marketing and Business Development Director said: “The conference will explore the expanding role of pharmacy, as well as some of the major issues impacting pharmacy and the healthcare consumer. Accreditation of four sessions is an additional reason for healthcare professionals and pharmacy assistants to register, as is the special Healthcare Professional and Pharmacy Assistant rate of only $695.”
The sessions attracting CPD points are:
* Global retailing expert, Steve Sowerby, will share global best practice in healthcare retailing, spotlighting retailers who have successfully transformed their pharmacies into health destinations.
* Steve Mister, CEO of the Council for Responsible Nutrition in Washington, will outline research which supports the valuable role certain evidence-based vitamins and supplements can play in preventive health. Complementary medicines are the largest and fastest growing consumer healthcare products segment in Australia and overseas.
* Dr Alison Roberts, of the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia, will present findings of the Health Destination Pharmacy Trial, teasing out learnings and implications for pharmacists as Australian pharmacy moves towards the new ‘health destination’ model.
* Macquarie University Professor Scott Koslow, will reveal new research on the healthcare consumer and how their current and future behaviour can unlock savings to healthcare budgets and expand the role pharmacy plays in this mix.
“ Other keynote speakers include consumer healthcare industry expert, Nicholas Hall, who will provide global insights and trends in consumer healthcare based on his 40 year international experience in the field, and one of the architects of self care in the UK, Ms Gopa Mitra MBE, who will share insights on how the UK has addressed self care to alleviate pressure on the UK’s ailing healthcare system.
“An important aspect of self care is consumer access to medicines. ASMI will present a session on the down-scheduling of prescription medicines to over-the-counter medicines, and the need for regulatory reform to increase consumer access to medicines.
The session will outline a new model of consumer communication for Schedule 3 medicines and propose the creation of a ‘switch taskforce’ to drive the switch agenda.
“Importantly, delegates will hear from the TGA’s Dr Lisa Studdert, who will give an update on the status of regulatory reforms of importance to the consumer healthcare products industry, in particular, labelling, advertising and scheduling,” Ms Maiese added