Patient safety is a very important subject for the European Crohn’s and Ulcerative Colitis Associations (EFCCA) and the Global Alliance for Patient Access (GAfPA), and lies at the core of our work. Within this framework EFCCA, together with GAfPA, organised an advocacy workshop on patient safety, which took place in Barcelona from 4-6 February 2016. The summit was attended by 60 advocates from 34 different organisations stemming from 27 different countries, representing patients with a variety of medical conditions including rheumatic disease, in ammatory bowel disease, psoriatic disease and hemophilia.
The main goals of the workshop were to create greater awareness amongst patient communities regarding the issues impacting access to biologic and biosimilar treatments and therefore to provide or improve basic understanding of the science and issues associated with biological medicines and biosimilars. Secondly, the workshop provided practical training on how to employ effective advocacy and communication strategies with the goal of raising awareness and understanding amongst key policy makers.
