International News

UK Pharmacists’ Regulator Unveils Continuing Professional Development Program
The Royal Pharmaceutical Society, the regulatory body for the United Kingdom’s 44,000 pharmacists, recently introduced a continuing professional development program (CPD) entitled Plan and Record. The program is being rolled-out in stages, and the initial group involves 5,000 pharmacists who have taken part in pilot programs, those practicing in the north west of England, and those involved in pre-registration education. 

As part of the Society’s Code of Ethics, pharmacists are required to remain current with the latest developments in practice, law and technology. While CPD is not mandatory, the Society describes it as a “professional obligation” and suggests it will soon become a requirement. It notes that when this is the case, pharmacists will be required to submit their CPD records on a regular basis, most likely every three or five years. A reviewer will provide feedback on the registrant's CPD record, with areas highlighted that are deemed as being particularly good as well as those that need improvement.

The Society suggests that the CPD program will become mandatory during 2004 and that registrants will be required to submit their records soon thereafter. It seems likely that the CPD program will form the backbone of a revalidation program that will be introduced in the years following the introduction of mandatory CPD. Additional components are likely to include a requirement to demonstrate both quantity and recency of practice in relevant fields. 

Further information:
Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain
Continuing Professional Development General Information
Plan and Record Brochure (pdf file) 

Proposed EU Directive Divides European Parliamentary Committee
The European Parliament's Committee on Legal Affairs and the Internal Market met recently to consider the draft report on the recognition of professional qualifications. As reported in previous editions of CLEAR News, parts of the proposed directive aimed at improving the free movement of professionals within the European Union (EU) have met with resistance from health care regulators. 

A report on the discussions held at committee level reveals twin objections to the proposed directive. Firstly, there is concern at the lack of distinction made between the learned professions and the other professions and commercial activities. As is noted, "The Commission fails to recognize that mounting a legal defence or carrying out a surgical operation is totally different to building a table." The latter objection relates to the legal aspects under consideration. Members of the committee assert that it is impossible to regulate via the same instrument, professions which have previously been subject to different systems (i.e. the General Systems as opposed to the Sectoral Directives). In his report, the Rapporteur Stefano Zappalà, Member of the European Parliament (MEP) indicates that the Commission's proposed directive "meets neither the Parliament's requests or expectations nor those of the large majority of professions concerned." 

The committee proposes that any new directive must include two separate systems for the general directives, one for the learned professions, and the other for the industrial, craft and commercial sectors. In addition, it specifies the continuation of the sectoral directives, and indeed requests suggestions on additional professions that might be covered by this system (including engineers). These recommendations form the basis of the detailed draft report from the Legal Affairs Committee, which is sure to continue the debate over how best to facilitate the free movement of professionals within the European Union. 

Further information:
Working Document from the Committee on Legal Affairs and the Internal Market (published 19 November 2002) - .pdf file  
Draft Report from the Committee on Legal Affairs and the Internal Market (published 6 February, 2003) - .pdf file
Committee on Legal Affairs and the Internal Market Homepage
Proposed Directive on the Recognition of Professional Qualifications - .pdf file

EU Enlargement Will See Single Market of 450 Million  
On Friday, December 13 2002 negotiations with 10 candidate countries concluded at the European Union summit in Copenhagen. Agreement was reached to admit to membership 10 new member states: Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, the Slovak Republic, and Slovenia will join on 1st May 2004. Bulgaria and Romania hope to join in 2007 and if successful will add to what will be a single market of 450 million people. 

Implications of enlargement will be significant for professional services and their regulation with millions of new EU citizens free to establish and apply to practice within the current fifteen members states and vice versa. The work that will be necessary to achieve the harmonization of qualifications and training, and entry to practice requirements among others, present some interesting challenges to regulators in both old and new Europe. 

EU and Services Negotiations Close on GATS Doha Round
January 31, 2003 saw the closing of the European Commission's consultation on requests from World Trade Organization (WTO) members to the European Union regarding the latest General Agreement on Trade and Services (GATS) round in Doha. 

The offers from the EU are conditional upon other WTO Members making substantial offers in which it has made requests. Within the field of professional services (which include the following services: legal, accounting, auditing and bookkeeping, taxations, architectural, engineering, medical and dental, nursing, physiotherapy, and para-medical), the following offers have been made:

• to allow foreign lawyers and law firms to establish within any Member State and provide legal services regarding the law of any country in which they are qualified

• foreign accountants will be allowed to review and produce financial statements etc. for EU clients

• foreign architects and engineers will be able to produce plans, designs, projects, specifications or cost estimates to clients within the EU without discrimination based on nationality

The European Commission proposes that no offers are made in either the health and social services or the education sectors.
 

In Other International News...
Following the release of a discussion paper by the Revenue Service, South African tax consultants may soon be regulated.

Wheel clampers, security guards, private investigators and entertainment doormen ('bouncers') in the UK are required to obtain a license for the first time.  

The UK Bar Council is to alter its complaints system following a critical survey.

 
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