The project relates to the development of part of a special course in clinical pharmacology at the Hospital in Akureyri. The development of the program is considered urgent in order to increase the number of clinical pharmacists to meet the needs of the health system and improve access to education in rural areas. In the larger context, the goal is to improve the quality, safety and efficiency of patients' medication.

"Since SAk is one of two specialty hospitals in the country, it is particularly important that the hospital gets the opportunity to build clinical pharmaceutical services and participate in training and educating clinical pharmacists." With this development, we hope that more clinical pharmacists will work outside the capital area as a result," says Jóna Valdís Ólafsdóttir, head of the SAk's pharmaceutical services department.

The universities' cooperation fund is a great incentive for cooperation between the universities, and it contains great opportunities, as this application showed. The collaboration consists in building education and training in parallel with providing clinical pharmacy services at SAk and HSN in the later stages with the vision of improving health services and access to education outside the capital area.

The project will increase the number of courses and options for postgraduate studies outside of the capital area by expanding the clinical pharmacology specialist program at the University of Iceland (HÍ) through the collaboration of the HÍ and HA.

"Now we will go over the project again and plan the next steps," says Jóna Valdís in conclusion.