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Dear colleagues, 

a year of great challenge and a lot of successes is coming to an end. An important reason for me to thank you all for your active support and work for the Oncology Pharmacy.
I am sure, that especially in difficult times the good collaboration between us is an important indication for the sincerity of our behavior. This gives all of us strength for the future.
I wish everybody of you a merry christmas and a happy new year 2012.

Yours
Klaus Meier



We are proud to celebrate in January 2012 the 20th NZW (Clinical conference for oncology pharmacy Service) with nearly 1000 participants and are sure that the first European Conference for Oncology Pharmacy (ECOP) in Budapest September 2012 will give all Europen Oncology Pharmacists a place of exchange and mutual support.



You may find the English program of the 20th NWZ published under www.nzw.de/nzw_programm_eng.php.
The program of ECOP is published on
www.ecco-org.eu/Home/Conferences/Conferences/ECOP%202012.aspx.




In the next issue of EJOP you can follow the discussion from some of our colleague about the understanding of hospital workers about nanotechnology. Often the national work initiates a European discussion. In order to open to all of you the option to identify your understanding of nanotechnology and to sensitize you for the benefits and risks we have attached a questionnaire.

www.esop.li/nanotec_survey_2011.php.

Please compleate it until January 15th, 2012. The answers will help us to know better the stage of nanotechnology in Europe.



ESOP gives you the possibility to visit and practise oncology pharmacy in other countries. The list of current centers of exchange you find on www.esop.li.
Belgium, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Poland and Switzerland have offered exchange opportunities in the past.

As in the meantime many changes have occurred we are updating this part of our side. All of you who want to register your country or institution please fill in the COE-registration form. We are looking forward receiving yours registration together with a picture until January 15th, 2012.



We invite you to learn next case reports. You can find it on  www.esop.li/casereports.php.
In the section “Case Report Manual” there are the description how to create a new case reports. It would be great if you could describe an interesting situation from your job. If you have other case reports do not hesitate to contact with Lukasz Lapinski (ll@esop.li).




Dear ESOP Members,
I am happy to invite you to learn next information from European countries. Now Kazakhstan, Bulgaria and Turkey. Here you can find information from ours colleagues.
If you have interesting information describe this. We would like to put in this section new practical information, reports and events description.

Lukasz Lapinski


ESOP goes Kasaksthan!

Dr. Doris Haider, from Austria ASOP, was involved in a cooperation project of the EU and WHO called: Improvement of maternal and child health in Kazakhstan and therefore invited by the University of Graz (MUG International, Austria): “My task was „Management of the hospital pharmacy of a research clinic: Standards of Quality, Clinical pharmacy and Models of Pharmacotherapy” at the University Clinic NRCMCH in Astana (a 500 children bed clinic).” Mortality for all ages is 2.4 times higher than Western Europe. The health of Kazakhstan’s population is not particularly good and is characterized by the double burden of diseases, non-communicable and infectious. Especially in children we see disease patterns I have neither seen in US or Europe before.
Kazakhstan declared itself an independent country on December 16th, 1991. It is the ninth largest country of the world, like whole western Europe, but has only ~17million people. This is a big challenge to the country if wanting to provide healthcare. The health-care system in Kazakhstan is typical of that found in the former Soviet Union: well-developed infrastructure of healthcare facilities, centralized, hierarchical, standardized healthcare systems, but due to the area they have to cover, they really work hard to provide western standard all over Kasaksthan.
The education at university of pharmacist is somehow comparable, but the country has not yet realized what tremendous benefit Clinical Pharmacists bring and I found not one pharmacy that is entrusted with the task of preparing sterile preparations or even chemotherapies.
As I did my first ESOP-Trainings like Spill Kit, Sterile Gloves Training and Aseptic Working Techniques, the pharmacists did not participate, because they thought that would never concern them.
Slowly I showed them, what pharmacists in western countries are in charge of, what possibilities they have to become a well accepted member of the health care team. I somehow truly  infected our “colleagues” with the services we do already provide! There is a barrier due to language, hardly anybody speaks English – so this is my call out to YOU today:
I am desperately seeking for colleagues who could provide a 3-5 days training in aseptic working techniques in Russian Language in their pharmacies.
This is the possibility to become new colleagues on board, one of the initial ideas of ESOP, and to give a sign that ESOP is interested to support!
So, this one goes out to all of YOU, if you are willing to support, please contact me! doris.pharm.haider@chello.at

The state of oncology pharmacy in Bulgaria

At present the oncology pharmacy specialization has not been developed in Bulgaria the way other European countries have done. Hospital pharmacists, including those working at specialized hospitals in oncology and haematology, as well as the general hospitals that have either an Oncology or a Haematology Department, are in charge only of the order, storage and dispense of the drugs. With the exception of one case (at a private hospital), the nurses on the respective wards dilute the cytostatics instead of the qualified pharmacists at the hospital pharmacies, without observing strictly all the requirements for aseptic preparation. Pharmacists are excluded from the decision-making process regarding the conservative treatment of patients. The goal of the Bulgarian Oncology Pharmacy Association is to work for a change in the status quo at the specialized hospitals in oncology and haematology in this country, which will result in optimal treatment of patients and improvement of the quality of their lives.

Velina Hristova Grigorova


First Oncology Congress in TURKIYE


Turkish Oncology Pharmacists Association organised their first congress in 21-22 October at Kemer/Antalya. Opening speech was given by Mr. Klaus Meier, President of ESOP, and Ahmet Sami BOSNAK, President of Turkish Oncology Pharmacists Association. Over 100 participants has joined Congress that are came from Oncology Pharmacists, Medical Oncologiests, Pharmacy Tecnicians, Nurses and also Patient's Relatives Assocations.



Since 2010 we have had a new structure of ESOP - Commitees. Unfortunately to the most of them belong only one person. Commitees must be a strong and powerfull network of people form different countries. More members allow us to work more hardly and effective. As a consequence the promotion of ESOP activity will we stronger and faster. Therefore we would like to invite to our committee.
Good wills are welcome to join the committee! Below you can find a short describtions of different committees.

Publication committee
Practice Committee
Research Committee
Scientific Committee
Organization committee
Education Committee


Please choose the commitee or the commitees you want to join and fill in the Contact form on www.esop.li/committees_survey_2011.php .
Thank you!

Fotos: istockfoto.com/Malerapaso, istockfoto.com/Bubaone, istockfoto.com/Bkindler, istockfoto.com/deliormanli