SOCFIC, the OAFI Foundation and AECOSAR sign a collaboration agreement to unite community pharmacy and patients in the prevention and treatment of joint health

The agreement with SOCFIC includes actions such as the development of studies, the implementation of prevention and social awareness campaigns and the creation of social programs to help patients with osteoarticular pathologies from Latin American community pharmacies.

Barcelona, May 29th, 2024. The Iberoamerican Professional Scientific Society of Community Pharmacy (SOCFIC), Osteoarthritis Foundation International (OAFI) and Spanish Association with Osteoporosis and Osteoarthritis (AECOSAR), signed a collaboration agreement on Tuesday, May 28, with which they will work together to improve the approach and prevention of pathologies that affect joint health, such as osteoarthritis and osteoporosis.

A lot of work ahead

Osteoarthritis, a degenerative joint disease that affects the bone, cartilage and soft tissues of the joint, already affects more than 595 million people globally, and in Spain, the figure is around 7 million people diagnosed. In the case of osteoporosis, a chronic and progressive disease that causes bones to become more porous and fragile, global cases stand at 300 million, with 3.5 million people diagnosed in our country, where a fragility fracture occurs every 2 minutes.

In view of these figures, SOCFIC, OAFI and AECOSAR have joined forces through a collaboration agreement to take care of the joint health of Ibero-American patients. The agreement, signed by Dr. Josep Vergés, President of OAFI and AECOSAR, and Dr. Jesús Gómez, President of SOCFIC, aims to promote the prevention, treatment and improvement of the quality of life of people with osteoarticular pathology, encouraging patients and the agents involved (patient associations from all over the world, medical and scientific societies, industry, research centers and public administrations) to work together to tackle these highly prevalent chronic diseases.

The presidents: statements

For Dr. Jesús Gómez, president of SOCFIC, “this collaboration agreement strengthens our commitment to the joint health of our patients. Community pharmacy plays a crucial role in health promotion and disease prevention. Through this agreement, we will be able to offer more comprehensive and personalized support, ensuring that our patients receive the best possible care to keep their joints healthy.”

Dr. Vergés, president of OAFI and AECOSAR reiterates the importance of the community pharmacy in the treatment and prevention of osteoarthritis and osteoporosis, as well as in patient support: “the community pharmacist is a key agent in the care and management of joint health. Being able to join forces between the Ibero-American community pharmacy and patients will help us to expand and improve the prevention, awareness and treatment of joint health, strengthening the union between OAFI, AECOSAR and SOCFIC”.

Through this agreement, SOCFIC, AECOSAR and OAFI undertake to collaborate in the study, development and implementation of research projects on osteoarthritis, osteoporosis and related areas such as nutrition, supplements and treatments, among others. In addition, the three organizations will work together to promote outreach and awareness campaigns and social programs to prevent and educate about these diseases in different risk groups (women, the elderly and athletes, for example). The three organizations are already working on the development of various actions to raise awareness and improve patients’ joint health.

About SOCFIC

Society that includes pharmacists and professionals from all Iberoamerican countries (Spain, Portugal, South America, Central America and the Caribbean); to achieve the development of clinical practice and care in the Iberoamerican community pharmacy, through the realization of pharmaceutical care and public health services and through the professionals who work in it, applying scientific knowledge to their practical work.

About OAFI

Osteoarthritis Foundation International (OAFI) is the first and only non-profit foundation exclusively for people with osteoarthritis worldwide. Since 2016, it has been leading the fight against osteoarthritis by promoting education, prevention, treatment and research on everything related to joint health and offering solutions to people suffering from this disease.

About AECOSAR

Founded in 1994 by Dr. Aurelio Rapado, it focuses all its efforts on the dissemination of information about osteoporosis and osteoarthritis, supporting patients through activities that result in healthy lifestyle habits and making more visible two of the most common bone pathologies in our country. They provide associates and society as a whole with the necessary information to recognize these pathologies, to know the symptoms and to act both in prevention and in improving quality of life.