From Mr J. Ferguson, FRPharmS
SIR,-I was in Helsinki for a workshop on the weekend immediately following the AESGP annual meeting (PJ, May 27, p820) and mentioned in your second leader in that issue, where you referred to a pharmacy employing 12 "pharmacists". I think we have to take great care in the use of that designation. It should surely be confined, in European Union terms, to those who have a qualification entitling them to practise in any EU member state, under the sectoral directives covering our profession (85/432 and 85/433/EEC). That would not apply to the 12 members of staff you referred to as pharmacists but only to the three holding the MSc (Pharm) qualification mentioned in the item about the Vuosaaren pharmacy on p821. The others, who have studied for three years, have a qualification very similar to the prescriptionists in Sweden. They are described in the statistical information issued by the Association of Finnish Pharmacies as "pharmaceutical assistants/bachelors of pharmacy".
I was fortunate to be able to visit the Vuosaaren pharmacy during my time in Helsinki. I found that the display of medicinal and other products followed closely the recommendations of the Finnish Association, which, in part state: "Medicines, herbal remedies and foodstuffs, such as natural products and nutritional supplements, should be arranged on the shelves in such a way that the customer can see what product he is purchasing. It must also be remembered that medicines should be kept separate from other merchandise. . . .
"Medicines with a strong effect, including preparations switched from prescription to self-care, analgesics, and newly registered products, should be placed so that the customer is always able to consult a pharmacist. A suitable location for these preparations is, for instance, near the prescription counter. Merchandise such as cosmetics, bandages, and natural products can be placed more freely about the pharmacy."
At the Vuosaaren pharmacy several of the display units illustrated on p821 were placed behind a long counter. That may be part of the counter in the bottom left of the photograph. In practice, customers did not have direct access to products displayed in these units. The products were, however, certainly "visible".
As far as information provision is concerned, the Elias touch-screen system is installed in about 100 of Finland's 800 pharmacies. Of the 99 pharmacists who provided feed-back in a recent survey, about half considered that the system enhanced dialogue on health issues. The remainder either thought it had no effect (44.4 per cent) or were not able to say (6.1 per cent).
The use of the system was often for information about lifestyle issues, particularly on how to lose weight, rather than about self-medication. This appears to be even more the case in the pilot trials in the UK of the Tesemed touch-screen system, the development of which has been funded by the EU Commission. Of the 11 most popular topics selected, seven related to topics for which self-medication would not normally be involved.
The Finnish Association is looking to develop the Elias system into one currently described as "Health Forum", which will cover many more topics and will be updated via the internet four times a year. It will also have more information specifically relevant to the locality that the pharmacy serves.
Finnish pharmacies already provide an excellent service which the pharmacy owners - all with MSc (Pharm) qualifications apart from those at the main pharmacy and 16 subsidiaries owned by the University of Helsinki - are constantly seeking to improve. They are fortunate to have the support of their Government for the policy of restricting the retail sale of medicines to pharmacies.
It was also good to hear that EU Commissioner Erkki Liikanen, in his address to the AESGP annual meeting, said: "Medicinal products are not just consumer products, they are also health products. It is in the interests not only of society but also of the industry that they are regulated as such." This is a message that the Pharmaceutical Group of the EU has been pressing with the Commission for many years. It may be that the new Commission is listening.
John Ferguson
Haywards Heath, Sussex