Maritime Pharmacy

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Maritime Pharmacy

• Working Group SHIPS MEDICINES
• Community Pharmacy Section/FIP

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Annelise Solheim maritime pharmacist Chair
Working Group Ships Medicines 1994-1998
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Introduction

• Why a working group on ships medicines?

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Outline

• Introduction (by Annelise Solheim)
• What is maritime pharmacy?
• Aims and actions of working group
• Research results
• Future

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Evelyn Schaafsma

• Director of Science Shop for Medicines
• University of Groningen, the Netherlands
• Chair Working Group Ships Medicines
• e.s.schaafsma_at_farm.rug.nl

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What is maritime pharmacy?

• Provisioning of shipping vessels
• with medical supplies
• to ensure safety
• on board

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Tasks of a maritime pharmacist

• Manager / supervisor medical supply of shipboard
  drug inventory
• Inspector ship-based medical supplies
• Advisor to shipping companies / captain
• Teaching refresher courses
• Consultant national regulators / policy makers

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Working group on Ships Medicines

• AIMS
• Quality improvement supplies
• Professionalism on maritime pharmacy expertise
• International standardization

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Working group on Ships Medicines

• Activities
• Quality Management System
• Review of WHO Guide
• Research
• regulations
• needs of crew
• recommendations

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Quality Management System

• Standards for quality control of maritime
  pharmacy
• Not only which medicines, but also how
• Protocols on
• - check up on board
• - delivery
• - information (e.g. labeling, leaflets)
• - documentation (e.g. certificates)

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Research

• Perspective of pharmacists on regulations
• Schaapman et al. Int Pharm J 1995
• Perspective of crew on medication supply
• Hansen 1999 (pilot), 2000-2001 preliminary results

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The ships medicine chestPerspectives of the crew

• AIMS
• How do the captain and crew deal with information
  about medicines?
• Do they experience problems when using medication
  on board?
• Which recommendations can be made?

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Ships nationality n137
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Most common nationality crewn137
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Information sources
when using medicines (n137)
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Information needs medicines n90

• 1. More / better information in manual (75)
• 2. More information on label (36) or package
  inserts (38)
• 3. Less need for more information from pharmacist
  or supplier (14)

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Quote respondent captain The ships medical
guide is so out of date that the medication
treatment recommended are not carried on board or
have been replaced by another product
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Information needs medicines n90

• 1. More / better information in manual (75)
• 2. More information on label (36) or package
  inserts (38)
• 3. Less need for more information from pharmacist
  or supplier (14)

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Top 3 used medication
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Problems with medication supply

• Outdated Medical Guide WHO
• Supplies arrive to late
• Supplies have different labels or drug names
• Problems with customs (narcotics)

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Recommendations

• Updating and standardizing information Medical
  Guide for Ships (WHO)
• decrease amount of drugs
• replace obsolete drugs with new.
• flexible system guide medicines list
• standardized labeling

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Conclusions

• FIP should promote international standards for
  supplying pharmaceuticals and other medical
  equipment to ships in cooperation with WHO and
  IMHA.
• Maritime pharmacy expertise is vital.
• (WHO World Health Organization
• IMHA International Maritime Health Organization)

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Working Group Ships Medicines

• Evelyn Schaafsma, The Netherlands (chair)
• Annelise Solheim, Norway
• Peter Krasemann, Germany
• Dipti Desai, South Africa
• Steven Moore (till 1998), USA
• Dolores Pont (1999), Spain
• Contact us e.s.schaafsma_at_farm.rug.nl
• with special thanks to Janet Hoven for research
  results