This Monday, the National Association of Pharmacies (ANF) defended the integration of pharmacies into the national screening network to identify diseases in an early phase, such as gastric and colorectal cancer, HIV/AIDS or viral hepatitis, and contribute to increasing the projected eligible population.
On Tuesday, the ANF will promote the conference “Screening and Prevention: Innovating in Public Health”, in which it aims to answer questions such as “What has been done and what more can be done” in the field of screening and secondary prevention.
The association maintains that, for the implementation of a Disease Prevention and Health Promotion Program, included in the State Budget for 2025, Proximity oncological and non-oncological screening is one of the most relevant public health strategies.
In statements to the Lusa agency, the president of ANF, Ema Paulino, stated that the intention of the conference is to debate “the relevance of including the pharmacy network in the national screening network”, as is the case, for example , from the bacteria ‘helicobacter pylor’ for gastric cancer or colorectal cancer, which can be identified early through a fecal occult blood test.
But they can also perform rapid tests to detect HIV/AIDS and hepatitis B and C, taking advantage of their installed capacity, with qualified professionals and appropriate instruments, he said.
Through their proximity and intervention in raising population awareness, pharmacies can increase the eligible population’s access to screening and mitigate regional asymmetries.
“Even in situations such as colorectal cancer screening, where theoretically we have population screening (…) adherence rates are very low,” he lamented.
Ema Paulino highlighted the benefits of the pathology being detected early for the patient, but also for the National Health Service, because “it is much cheaper” to intervene early, with first-line medications and less invasive interventions.
Asked if the ANF has discussed these measures with the supervisory authority, she stated that it was previously working with the Executive Directorate of the SNS on colorectal cancer screening, but that the project was stopped under the new management.
He added that the association has a protocol with the Chamber of Oeiras, which finances HIV/AIDS and viral hepatitis tests, and the Ministry of Health has already expressed its willingness to evaluate the possibility of expanding these tests at the national level.
At the conference, ANF will show a example of what is happening in France, and in other countries such as the United Kingdom and Canada, where pharmacies already apply rapid tests to identify acute infectionssuch as urinary and throat infections, to determine whether it is necessary to prescribe antibiotics, which pharmacists do through defined protocols with doctors.
“Obviously, we don’t want to overextend our abilities. The diagnosis and prescription competence is a medical competence (…) but It is a way to alleviate other levels of care for more complex and urgent situations.”he said, highlighting that Portugal is the country in the European Union with the highest number of emergency services for non-urgent situations.
The director of the National Viral Hepatitis Program, Rui Tato Marinho, who will be present at the conference, highlighted that screening tests for viral hepatitis and colon cancer have increased in recent years, a “very big effort” intensified after the pandemic.
The gastroenterologist highlighted the role that pharmacies can play in this field, stating that they can be “the gateway to the health system or to diagnose a disease.”
“Pharmacists are allies of doctors, nurses and senior diagnostic technicians,” he stated, concluding: “the advice of a pharmacist can save a life, especially in screening examinations, which aim to detect the disease when There are no symptoms.”
Oncological diseases are the second cause of mortality in Portugalwhere more than 7,000 cases of colorectal cancer are detected every year, which registers a mortality rate higher than the EU average.
Estimates indicate that by 2035, in Europe, cancer mortality will increase by more than 24%.
Source: Observadora
