The White Book

The Portuguese Pharmacies’ White Book aims to be a crucial part of the ongoing development of pharmacies in Portugal, projecting the future of the sector and its action in the context of health through a process of collective co-creation, the success of which will depend on the collaboration of all its stakeholders.

On this basis, the ANF - National Association of Pharmacies (Portugal) identified the need to draw up this document as a guiding tool for developing the pharmacy sector over the next decade. This work is based on a wide-ranging exercise of internal and external reflection, inspired by the historical practice that has enabled the pharmacy sector to progress and which reflects, in the light of the current context, the various challenges and opportunities in which pharmacies propose to continue transforming the healthcare provided to people.

In 2006, the International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP), in collaboration with the World Health Organisation (WHO), published the first edition of the “Good Pharmacy Practice” handbook to identify the conditions and circumstances that would optimise the pharmacist’s intervention and skills, establish a new paradigm for professional practice. This initiative inspired the Pharmaceutical Group of the European Union (PGEU), which, led by a working group based in Portugal, adapted the document to the European context. Subsequently, based on international FIP/WHO guidelines, the Portuguese Pharmaceutical Society and the ANF - National Association of Pharmacies (Portugal) collaborated to draw up the Good Community Pharmacy Practices handbook for Portugal, with the respective cultural adaptation of the internationally established objectives.

The preparation of the Portuguese Pharmacies’ White Book is inspired by previous works, which have greatly helped the sector and its contribution to social progress, to encourage a similar movement when significant changes are in prospect for the health sector and the pharmacy sector.

Based on this framework, reflected in dimensions and axes of development, the different priority areas and proposals for action are organised, to which we invite a joint reflection on the future contribution of pharmacies to people’s health.

The ANF - National Association of Pharmacies (Portugal) firmly believes that the changes proposed here will only be possible through the involvement of all parties who actively participate in the discussion and decision-making processes, with the capacity for dialogue and consensus-building.

It is crucial that all pharmacies, through their teams, are aware of their mission, fostering the relationships of trust and proximity that guide their activity and have historically been recognised by the people who need them.

It is also essential to recognise that the Portuguese Pharmacies’ White Book will always be a never-ending tool, constantly evolving and updated in light of societal and sector developments.

We want to build this future together based on a spirit of greater integration of care, collaboration, and synergy that allows us to add value to every interaction between people and pharmacies.

In Portugal, the various stakeholders in the healthcare ecosystem have been endeavouring to promote a universal, equitable, accessible healthcare system with quality care based on social solidarity principles. There is general recognition that the responses of the current health system, which have led to significant social improvements in the past, will have to be transformed to meet the needs of the future.

Over the next few years, advances in healthcare will continue to accelerate and demand innovative and disruptive models of care delivery aimed at bringing health gains to people and society. A healthcare system that provides enough information to progressively encourage people to become more autonomous in making decisions about their care is a central and integral part of the ecosystem.

In this sense, the activity carried out by pharmacies, through their teams, must be a key component in the provision of safe and effective healthcare, based on a model of collaboration between pharmacists, people and other healthcare professionals to improve health outcomes for the person living with illness and disease prevention for the general population.

Today, pharmacies actively contribute to the health outcomes of the people and communities they serve. Their intervention is considered fundamental in strengthening health systems and is recognised nationally and internationally.

The development of this White Book aims to establish a broad consensus on the future of Portuguese pharmacies based on the motivation for the continuous transformation of the industry and the resilience of its professionals to overcome the challenges that lie ahead. The development process was based on assumptions of openness, transparency, and involvement across the health ecosystem, aiming to understand the ideas of the different stakeholders through experiences and expertise from around the world.

The process of drawing up the White Book was collaborative and inclusive, directly involving pharmacies’ teams (through national workshops and questionnaires) and the ANF, which resulted in recommendations and ideas that were worked on, giving rise to the conclusions contained in the present White Book. During this process, more than four hundred people were consulted in forty-five decentralised sessions in twenty-two locations covering all the district capitals and autonomous regions.

The perspectives of different stakeholders in the health ecosystem were also considered to understand their perception of pharmacies’ intervention. To this end, more than thirty national and international external organisations were interviewed to gather views and opinions on the involvement and contribution of pharmacies in different areas.