The three entities start a collaboration to improve knowledge about biological medicines aimed at doctors and pharmacists.
The presidents of the Spanish Society of Primary Care Physicians - SEMERGEN, Dr. José Luis Llisterri, of the Spanish Society of Family and Community Pharmacy - SEFAC, Jesús C. Gómez and of the Spanish Association of Biosimilar Medicines - BioSim, Joaquín Rodrigo, today launched a training initiative for primary care physicians and community pharmacists on biologics.
In this press conference the first “Online course for community pharmacists and primary care physicians in biological and biosimilar medicines”, whose fundamental purpose is to update and improve the knowledge of biological medicines by these professionals. The course will consist of content prepared by the three entities, according to criteria of educational excellence and the best available scientific and regulatory information.
Biological medicines, from all their perspectives.
The content of the course, already prepared and available to SEMERGEN and SEFAC associates on the platforms www.campussefac.org y www.semergen.es, will deal with biosimilar medicines in dimensions such as their definition and types, their clinical and economic relevance, the Spanish and European regulatory systems, will deal with biological medicines in dimensions such as their definition and types, their clinical and economic relevance , the Spanish and European regulatory systems, the therapeutic groups and indications for which they are used, biosimilars, their interchangeability, pharmacovigilance or the approach to patients being treated with biological drugs, among others. All the contents will be accessible online, and evaluation systems will also be incorporated through questions and clinical cases.
For Joaquín Rodrigo, “BioSim wants to continue advancing in a line of work that has always been based on providing health professionals with the best information on biosimilar medicines. We are aware that the appearance of biosimilars of a large number of monoclonal antibodies, insulins, and low molecular weight heparins, among others, have transformed the therapeutic landscape. What used to be a topic that only concerned very specific specialties (nephrology, oncology or pediatric endocrinology), today concerns us all. Primary care physicians must become familiar with the use of biosimilars, dispelling myths, understanding the scientific and technical bases for their development and approval by regulatory agencies, and becoming familiar with essential concepts for their prescription and monitoring. Community pharmacists must become familiar with the dispensing of biosimilar medicines in order to give the best possible assistance to the patient who goes to the pharmacy”.
“Last year we carried out a survey on biosimilar medicines and the result was that 66% of the PC doctors surveyed were unaware which biosimilars are used in Primary. These data highlight the real lack of knowledge in this regard that exists in Primary Care, since almost seven out of ten doctors who have participated in this survey are unaware of what types of biosimilar drugs are marketed in PC. At SEMERGEN, we are committed to training in biological, original and biosimilar medicines so that family doctors are aware of their use and applicability, since this type of medicine is in the immediate future”, says Dr. José Luis Llisterri, president of SEMERGEN.
For Jesús C. Gómez Martínez, "this course is a magnificent initiative for community pharmacists, in collaboration with doctors and the sector's industry, to learn in depth and in all its dimensions a therapeutic arsenal that will be key in the future of health and patient care. As drug experts, who are responsible for the dispensing, indication, and pharmacotherapeutic follow-up of patients who come to the community pharmacy, it is essential to be involved in pharmaceutical care for this type of drug if we want to achieve efficiency in the treatment of patients. at the community and primary care level.
