by Eeva Teräsalmi
Pharmacy owner, Seitsemän veljeksen apteekki
Vice president, FIP

International Pharmaceutical Federation FIP looks forward to publish its first environmental report “Green pharmacy practice”. This report has been written by a working group consisting of members representing different pharmacy fields from research to practice and education.

The document, “Green Pharmacy Practice – Report for Pharmacists” was prepared by a joint working group of the Board of Pharmacy Practice and Board of Pharmaceutical Science of FIP. The report is intended to inform FIP Member Organizations and individual members of FIP about the environmental issues that surround the medication-use process.

The report has as an underlying premise, the concept that pharmacists should accept a degree of responsibility for changing the entire medication-use process so as to minimize the environmental effects of pharmaceuticals – the entire process of prescribing, dispensing, pharmaceutical care, disposal of unused medication and ultimately reduction in waste discharge into the environment.

The report describes the current findings about pharmaceuticals’ levels in the environment and the different ways that they find their way into the water supply, soil and the atmosphere. It goes on to describe some of the negative effects that APIs may have on living organisms – hormonal or nervous-system effects on aquatic animals, which in severe cases could cause population collapse.

In the face of substantial research that documents both the cause and effect of pharmaceutical discharge into the environment, the report offers a wide array of solutions. It recognizes that the solution is one that includes consumer and health-provider awareness that results in positive actions by all those in the medication-use process – from research through manufacturing and sales to providers and ultimately to the person who uses the medication.

Underlying the actions of citizens must be supportive public policy and law.  The report provides a brief overview of some of the policy initiatives, agency activities of multi-national, national, regional and local governments and non-governmental organizations.

In proposing ways to address this issue there is an extensive discussion of market segments and ways that each can have a positive impact. This section looks at hospital and institutional practice, community and ambulatory practice, pharmaceutical industry, wholesaling, office management, and the consumer of medications. There is also a discussion of the value of inter-professional collaboration and the need to address the subject within professional education curricula.

This report provides many examples of current practices occurring in various parts of the world and is extensively documented.

By accepting the professional challenge of reducing the environmental impact of the medications for which pharmacists are responsible, the profession can provide meaningful leadership in an area where leadership is desperately needed.

Our project “Generation Green” is an excellent example of the implementation of the ideas presented in the international level. We can be proud of being the first ones to take such a step!