Dear
It is already four years since the Secretariat met in Vancouver, Canada to create ISOPP’s Strategic Plan. In the March newsletter, I shared with you several initiatives born out of the subsequent Global Summit ISOPP held in Budapest two years ago, demonstrating that much progress is being made and we are not slowing down – ISOPP’s most recent initiatives discussed below reflect our continued work in advancing global cancer care through collaborative action.
In April, we held ISOPP’s first online Annual General Meeting (AGM) and 18% of our membership attended. Comments from participants included “Great use of technology!”, “Good opportunity to talk to ISOPP members” and “Engagement was great!”. Deemed a success, we will hold 2020’s AGM online, so watch for details when the time comes.
Collaborative action was delivered at ISOPP’s first ever
Africa Regional Oncology Pharmacy Symposium (AROPS 2019)
, which took place on May 16-17, 2019 in Nairobi, Kenya. Over 100 pharmacists, technologists and other oncology healthcare providers from 8 African countries participated! Many thanks to the Hospital Pharmacists Association of Kenya (HOPAK), the local host, as well as Irene Weru, AROPS 2019 Chair and others who contributed their energy and expertise to ensure the Regional Symposium was a great success.
AusROPS 2019 took place on April 6-7, 2019 in Melbourne, Australia. The very successful Regional Symposium gathered 55 practitioners from public and private hospital pharmacies and industry. Thank you to all those involved with its organization and delivery. Read the article in the newsletter to find out all that transpired at AROPS 2019 as well as at the
Australasia Regional Oncology Pharmacy Symposium (AusROPS 2019)
.
Lastly, here are more examples of collaborative action at work:
- The Biosimilars Task Force recently conducted the Biosimilar Implementation Assessment survey for ISOPP members as well as non-members from around the world. Check out the survey results in the newsletter and see what their next steps are!
- The Advocacy Task Force continues their work with both the UICC to increase / improve Oncology Pharmacy services in Low and Middle Income Countries as part of UICC’s Treatment for All Campaign; and with the WHO in providing support drafting a Technical Report on Essential Medicines.
Thank you for being a part of the ISOPP community and we look forward to seeing you in London just four short months away to keep up the collaborative action!
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Alex Chan
ISOPP President
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Oncology Pharmacy Around the World
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The 11
th
Australasia Regional Oncology Pharmacy Symposium (AusROPS19) in Melbourne, Australia
By Li-Ling Ng, Monash Health
55 delegates from public and private hospital pharmacies and industry Australia wide with a lone Singaporean representative attended this biennial event.
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The 1
st
Africa Regional Oncology Pharmacy Symposium (AROPS2019) in Nairobi, Kenya
By Irene Weru, Kenyatta National Hospital
The Inaugural
Africa Regional Oncology Pharmacy Symposium (AROPS 2019)
was held at Tamarind Tree Hotel in Nairobi, Kenya on May 16 to 17, 2019. This was followed by two concurrent one day ISOPP Masterclasses on May 18. AROPS 2019 was co-hosted by Hospital Pharmacists Association of Kenya (HOPAK) and ISOPP.
AROPS 2019 brought together one hundred pharmacists, technologists and other oncology healthcare providers from eight African countries. Participants came from Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania and Zimbabwe.
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The Japan Clinical Oncology and Pharmacology Society (JASPO) Annual Meeting in Sapporo, Japan
By Hisanaga Nomura, National Cancer Center Hospital East and Yoshikazu Tazaki, Asahikawa Medical University
The jam-packed conference featured engaging sessions covering diverse topics such as optimization of pharmacotherapy in childhood cancers and expanding roles of pharmacists in oncology field. Each session was filled with an eager audience followed by many intense discussions. There were over a hundred short oral presentations and three hundred poster presentations.
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The 4
th
Oncology Pharmacy Board Review hosted by Asia Pacific Oncology Pharmacy Society (APOPS) in Udontani, Thailand
By Suphat Subongkot, Khon Kaen University
From March 21 to March 22, 2019, the fourth Oncology Pharmacy Board Review organized by
Asia Pacific Oncology Pharmacy Society (APOPS)
in Thailand was a national congress that took place in Udontani, Northeastern part of Thailand. This two-day review course is held annually in March according to the domains and knowledge statements outlined by Board Pharmaceutical Specialty (BPS) for the examination.
This year’s theme “Comprehensive Oncology Pharmacy Refresh” provides a robust preparatory curriculum for the oncology pharmacy professional preparing for the examination to be held in May and October 2019. This year over 140 attendees including one overseas oncology pharmacist from Japan enthusiastically participated the event.
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ISOPP Member’s Story – Tom Connor
By Tomas Connor, retired ISOPP member, former researcher of National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
Thomas (Tom) Connor, PhD recently retired from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) after almost 20 years working as a researcher on topics related to occupational exposure to hazardous drugs. Before that, Tom was a faculty member at the University of Texas School of Public Health in Houston and conducted some of the early work on occupational exposure at the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center.
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ISOPP/MASCC Joint Session on Biosimilars at The Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer (MASCC) Annual meeting
in San Francisco, USA
By Toh Yi Long, National University of Singapore
The
Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer (MASCC)
held its annual meeting at San Francisco this year. The conference covers a wide spectrum of problems experienced by cancer patients that may be related to their cancer and/or treatment, which is well-attended by multiple disciplines ranging from medical oncologists to pharmacists.
A new addition to this year is the organisation of shorter workshops embedded within the main meeting, which have already been included in the registration fee. There was also a debate session organised that was lively, as speakers argued for the notion that every cancer survivor must have a written survivorship care plan, with quick-witted comments, analogies and quotable banter.
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Highlighted Education Resources
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Newly Published Consensus Recommendations for the Role and Competencies of EBMT Clinical Pharmacists and Clinical Pharmacologists involved in Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation
By Tiene Bauters, Ghent University
The role of clinical pharmacists in hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) has been recognized for years in many parts of the world. In 2015, their role was officially recognized by the FACT-JACIE International Standards for Hematopoietic Cellular Therapy Product Collection, Processing, and Administration. Since then, more and more European clinical pharmacists have been appointed to HSCT wards.
In May 2019, Consensus Recommendations for the role and competencies of EBMT clinical pharmacists and clinical pharmacologists involved in hematopoietic stem cell transplantation were published.
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International Best Practices
By Carole Chambers, Alberta Health Services Cancer Care, on behalf of David U and Michael Cohen
Both David U (retired CEO Institute of Safe Medication Practices – ISMP Canada) and Michael Cohen (President of Institute of Safe Medication Practices- ISMP) participate in an International Medication Safety Network (IMSN).
A globally targeted medication safety best practices (G-TMSPB) initiative has been developed which focuses on three drugs; concentrated potassium chloride, vincristine, and oral methotrexate.
M Cohen as Chair of IMSN and David U as General Secretary IMSN have asked that we share this best practice document with ISOPP.
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Call for Oncology Pharmacy Educational Resources
Would you like to share an Educational Resource with ISOPP members?
ISOPP hosts online resources and links to external educational materials on its
Oncology Pharmacy Resources
web page with the aim to expand the reach of educational content relevant to Oncology Pharmacy practitioners.
We encourage you to
review the policy
and share your Education Resources with fellow ISOPP members.
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Updates on ISOPP Standards of Practice
ISOPP Standards Review Task Force has finalized 8 new chapters for ISOPP Standards of Practice, and is now reviewing the existing chapters with help from many volunteers from the around the world.
The Standards will be published in JOPP at a date to be determined. However, there will be an update presented at
ISOPP’s 2019 Symposium
in London as one of the concurrent sessions.
Many thanks to all volunteers who contributed their knowledge and time so far.
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After completing the questionnaire, a certificate will be available. Although not formally accredited continuing medical education (CME) points, participation is equal to one hour of CME activity.
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ISOPP’s
Virtual Education Resource Library
(the Virtual Library) serves as a hub for oncology pharmacy practitioners from around the world to access the breadth and depth of knowledge of ISOPP members and others on a 24-hour basis.
The Regional Symposium participants receive complimentary access to the content of the Symposium they attended for 12 months after the Symposium.
Bonus for all 2019 Symposium registrants, you will receive complimentary access to the 2019 Symposium video presentations until October 2020, as part of ISOPP's
Virtual Education Resource Library
.
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ISOPP Biosimilars Implementation Practices Assessment Survey Results
By Emma Foreman, Biosimilars Task Force Chair
The Biosimilars Implementation Practices Assessment survey was circulated to ISOPP members as well as other national oncology pharmacy associations and by word of mouth.
Task Force member, Annemeri Livinalli translated the survey into Portuguese to encourage more responses from Brazil.
Survey responses: 90
(50 ISOPP members and 40 non-ISOPP members)
Respondents represented 27 different countries across 6 continents with the greatest number of responses coming from Japan (18%), Brazil (12%), Australia (10%) and Canada (7%).
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Virtual AGM Minutes available online!
If you didn’t have chance to attend the meeting, review the minutes for updates from the various Committees and Task Forces.
The hard work and dedication of the outgoing Secretariat members was acknowledged, and a warm welcome given to the newly elected Secretariat members.
Thank you again for being a part of the ISOPP community!
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New Membership Benefit: Sosido
ISOPP members have been set up with log in details that gives them free access to the
Sosido Network
.
Sosido is an online knowledge sharing platform designed to speed clinical knowledge transfer between healthcare professionals.
Sosido provides you with:
- A live stream of new abstracts from your chosen journal feeds or knowledge sources
- Updates on new publications by ISOPP members
- A weekly email digest which summarizes all the new activities on the ISOPP network
- A Q&A feature which allows you to ask and answer practice questions
We hope you will find Sosido a useful tool to help you stay abreast of new knowledge in the oncology pharmacy field, and to connect with each other.
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ISOPP's International Symposium
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The Chair of ISOPP 2019 at Marathon Des Sables
By Rob Duncombe, ISOPP 2019 Chair
In April this year the Chair of
ISOPP 2019
, Rob Duncombe, embarked upon a challenge of a lifetime and completed in one of hardest footraces on the planet. Read on to learn more about Rob’s story and experience.
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The MdS (Marathon des Sables) is a race across the Sahara desert that takes place in April each year. The MdS is pretty unique in that participants have to carry everything they need to survive (with the exception of water) for the full duration of the event. Temperatures can soar above 40C during the day and drop to almost 0C at night.
In the Summer of 2017, I read a book by someone who had participated in the MdS and was inspired by their descriptions of not only the race, but also the environment and the impact that the MdS had on them subsequently. Having read the book I decided that I wanted to run the MdS and started planning. The MdS should not be undertaken lightly and my training involved running 6 marathons in 2018 and a rigorous training programme built around building up my core body strength so that I could manage to run while carrying over 10Kg on my back.
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ISOPP 2019 Registration Opens, Register Now!
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Ancillary Events Only
Symposium Only
Ancillary Events and Symposium
Click on the links below to go directly to any of the following sections:
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To become a sponsor and/or exhibitor, contact Brittany Minskip, Symposium Manager, at
sponsor@isopp.org
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Call for ISOPP Quarterly Newsletter Authors
Would you like to contribute articles to be published in the ISOPP Newsletter?
We would love to hear about conference(s) you have attended, the day in your job or anything else you would like to share with ISOPP members in oncology pharmacy and your practice.
ISOPP’s Newsletter
, published quarterly and sent via email directly to members, is the home of international discussion on oncology pharmacy research and practice and ISOPP news and business. We are always looking for contributions.
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Evelyn Handel
Newsletter Editor
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Discussion Forum
The
Discussion Forum
is an online discussion about oncology pharmacy with ISOPP members around the world. The forum is an active conversation amongst members, committee members and Secretariat members on oncology pharmacy related issues and ISOPP specific issues.
Post questions and provide answers using the discussion forum. Take advantage of the networking opportunities with ISOPP members by starting a discussion around leading edge oncology knowledge and best practices!
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ISOPP's Society and Symposium Management Office
Sea to Sky Meeting and Association Management
is ISOPP's Society and Symposium Management Office. If you have any questions about membership, services, Symposium or the Society, please contact the ISOPP Office directly as follows:
Direct: +1-604-984-6448
Fax: +1-604-984-6434
Suite 206, 201 Bewicke Avenue
North Vancouver, BC Canada V7M 3M7
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