Community pharmacists continue to bring their professional services closer to the population in the most emblematic squares and places of the large Madrid municipalities. The citizens of Fuenlabrada have the opportunity to learn about the information, early diagnosis and health promotion campaign Here is a pharmacist…on the go and undergo various health tests.
This is the third stop in a city in the Community of Madrid, after Alcobendas and Torrejón de Ardoz, of a campaign promoted by the Official College of Pharmacists of Madrid, together with Sandoz Iberia, which is touring the municipalities of the region under the motto Do you know everything that the pharmacist does for your health?
The objective of this initiative, which also has the collaboration of Caixabank, is to bring closer the care services that community pharmacists provide to reinforce health prevention, promote good habits in the use of medicines and thus contribute to better facing the challenges of the system. healthcare such as prevention, chronicity and polypharmacy, among others.
In the first two stations of the campaign, an average of 120 people have visited the open facilities in a large mobile unit, where participating volunteer pharmacists have carried out more than 430 free health tests for the population, in addition to promoting healthy habits. among citizens.
This mobile unit is located today in the Fuenlabrada Fairgrounds until 6:00 p.m., after yesterday afternoon it was open in the Constitution Square from Fuenlabrada. Citizens can thus access free tests, without an appointment, for the prevention of diseases such as diabetes and hypertension, as well as other evaluations related to respiratory health and osteoporosis, with a focus on therapeutic adherence and prevention of habits. harmful such as smoking.
Assessment of the authorities and promoters of the campaign
The Councilor for Social Welfare, Health and Consumer Affairs, Cristina Mora, Today he valued the initiative positively. “This campaign is a magnificent opportunity to bring pharmaceutical services closer to citizens and to influence prevention as a key to improving quality of life. “Community pharmacists play a decisive role not only in the dispensing of medicines, but also in the daily monitoring and advice of citizens,” he added.
The councilor for Feminism, Diversity and Citizen Security, responsible for the Citizen Rights Area and 4th deputy mayor, also participated in the institutional visit. Raquel López; and the general director of Social Policies, Citizenship Rights and Living City Area, Alvaro Revilla.
For the first vice president of the COFM, Oscar Lopez “the campaign Here’s a pharmacist… on the go It gives visibility to the healthcare services that are already offered in community pharmacies, but which are often not sufficiently known. Our goal is for citizens to know that they have in their pharmacist a close and accessible ally to maintain and improve their health.” In addition, he indicated that the involvement of volunteer pharmacists in this campaign demonstrates their commitment to the population: “We are here to prevent, train and help take care of health, especially in the management of chronic pathologies, which can be detected in time through regular checks”.
The commercial director of Sandoz Iberia, Ignacio Ortinalso highlighted the value of these actions: “This campaign reflects Sandoz’s commitment to public health and reaffirms our purpose of being pioneers in facilitating patients’ access to health through quality preventive care. Collaborate with the “COFM in this initiative reinforces our desire to bring health closer to the population in a close and direct way, supporting the essential role of community pharmacists as key agents in our health system.” Ortín emphasized that, thanks to these activities, many people can better understand their health status and make informed decisions: “It is an opportunity for citizens to feel accompanied in their daily care and discover everything that their pharmacist can provide them as a health professional. “he concluded.
Useful pharmaceutical services for the population
Interested citizens can make a early detection test and prevention of diabetes risk through the Findrisk testdetermination of blood glucose or measurement of glycosylated hemoglobin and blood pressure.
Other tests that are made available to the population are venous return measurementbased on checking the proper functioning of blood circulation, and body composition through lipid profile and triglyceride concentration.
It also measures the calcaneal bone density to evaluate bone loss and the risk of osteoporosis.
Pharmacists also emphasize the importance of adherence and therapeutic compliance through personalized dosing systems (SPD)which the new Pharmacy Law of the Community of Madrid proposes to extend, and influence the proper management of inhalers and the prevention of smoking to maintain good respiratory health.
Assistance opportunity
The next station in the COFM and Sandoz campaign will be Majadahonda, on November 4 and 5within a campaign that tours the main Madrid towns in the first phase of the project.
The initiative is a continuation of the campaign Here is a pharmacist (www.aquihayunfarmaceutico.es), which the COFM launched last year to explain the valuable work for society that the pharmacy profession carries out in its different forms of practice and the opportunity that pharmacists represent to address chronic diseases and promote public health.
In Spain, it is estimated that the prevalence of diabetes is above 13% and more than 6% of the population is undiagnosed. In the case of high blood pressure (HTN), its incidence is greater than 30%, with a high underdiagnosis, since one in three people with HTN does not know that they suffer from it.
The management of chronic diseases is one of the great global challenges, since nearly half of the people who suffer from a chronic pathology do not adequately comply with their pharmacological treatment.
Smoking is the main cause of preventable diseases in Spain and affects more than 20% of the population, while the prevalence of obesity and overweight is increasing in Spain, where 55.6% of adults and a third of minors are overweight.
Another of the great challenges is the increase in skin cancer among the population. Every year more than 78,000 new patients are diagnosed and it is expected that in 2040 melanoma will become the second tumor in global incidence.
In all these pathologies and health problems, pharmacists have a healthcare role capable of providing solutions and contributing to reducing their impact, thus improving the quality of health care and efficiency.
Related information:
Municipality of Torrejón de Ardoz (October 15 and 16)
Municipality of Alcobendas (October 2 and 3)