Madrid, March 24. Infarma Madrid 2022 has closed the doors of the "reunion" edition, which has recovered the level of participation prior to the pandemic and has met all the objectives set by its organizers. The European Pharmacy Meeting has brought together almost 30,000 professional visitors at Ifema for three days, in the absence of the final closing date for the last day of the Congress, of which more than half are pharmacists, and 4,000 congress attendees.
Infarma Madrid 2022 has also achieved a new record for business participation, with 430 companies and laboratories represented, and 280 direct exhibitors, spread over an area of more than 32,000 sqm. "We can say that the Congress and Exhibition is surpassed every year and each edition is more innovative and participatory, more valuable for its participants and representative of the capacity of professionals in this sector to develop, innovate and grow", highlighted the president of Infarma and acting president of the Official College of Pharmacists of Madrid, Luis González, who has shown his pride in the joint collaboration with the College of Barcelona to make Infarma possible.
In the closing act, the president of the Official College of Pharmacists of Barcelona, Jordi Casas Sánchez; the second vice president of the Congress of Deputies, Ana Pastor Julián; and the Deputy Minister of Health Humanization of the Ministry of Health of the Community of Madrid, María Dolores Moreno Molino.
Jordi Casas has highlighted that the 32nd edition closes "with an absolute record of visitors and exhibitors, which combines and reflects the reality of the pharmacy". The already president of Infarma Barcelona 2023, which will be held between March 14 and 16 next year in Barcelona, has underlined that "attendance at the meeting cannot be replaced with virtual tools, contact is essential and we It should serve as a guide for the digitization of the sector, without forgetting the closeness with the patient”. Likewise, he has highlighted the value of collaboration between schools and institutions: “It must be the future of the profession”.
Ana Pastor thanked all Spanish pharmacists for their actions during the crisis for being "a backbone and support of the health system, as we citizens have been able to verify". "The role of the pharmacy will always be remembered during these years of pandemic", added the former Minister of Health, who has stressed the importance of home pharmaceutical care or the dispensing of antigen tests, a "very positive" measure to speed up detection of cases, although it was difficult for some to see it.” In her intervention, Ana Pastor defended the need for an agile system for the evaluation of medicines and health technologies "with a true agency that makes it possible", as well as the Spanish pharmacy model, which provides service and security to the health system ,
Finally, Dolores Moreno has influenced the human dimension of health care, a priority culture for the Madrid Government that the new humanization plan that the Ministry of Health will launch in the coming weeks "will contribute to improving care and will involve all professionals, including pharmacists”, he specified. The deputy minister has also referred to the preliminary draft of the Pharmacy Law that the Madrid Executive is considering approving in the Governing Council in April. "The pharmacy has an essential strategic value and we want to strengthen its health work" with a regulation that will make opening hours more flexible, incorporate new professional sections and bet on personalized dosage systems and home pharmaceutical care, among other novelties.
Finally, Luis González thanked the great participation registered in Infarma, "an edition that has marked the reunion of a sector that is up to date, is prepared to compete and aspires to continue growing", he pointed out.
Beyond the number of registered congressmen, exhibitors and visitors, the pharmaceutical profession has assumed a special role throughout the more than 80 papers presented at Infarma and has actively participated in the debates and parallel activities that have taken place during the Congress, such as Infarmainnova, Successful Initiatives or RetoÁgora, among other open spaces in this edition.
Likewise, the professionals have devoted themselves to the humanitarian cause of Infarma Solidario by contributing a donation of 25,260 euros, which will be used to support the activity carried out by the Pablo Horstmann Foundation in Ethiopia and which will allow it to offer medical and pharmaceutical assistance to more than 16,900 people. at the Meki Maternal and Child Clinic.