Official Launch of the Southern Academic Network of Pharmacists (ZANA)

In the Netherlands, there are seven academic networks in which pharmacists from both primary and secondary care collaborate: ANNA (Groningen), LANA (Leiden), NECF (Nijmegen), SAPHIA (Amsterdam), RANA (Rijnmond), and UPPER (Utrecht).

And now, there is one more! The Zuidelijk Academisch Netwerk Apothekers (ZANA) is a young collaboration between community pharmacists and hospital pharmacists in the region Zuid Limburg. Improving pharmaceutical care through collaboration among pharmacists leads to the development of academic knowledge across the care chain, which we aim to use to shape continuing education, research, and innovations in patient care.

The members of the ZANA board are:
Fatma Karapinar, hospital pharmacist at MUMC+ (chair)
Paul Peeters, Chief Pharmacist at Verenigde Apotheken Limburg (VAL) (secretary)
Boris Tyndall, pharmacist at Service Apotheek van Thoor (treasurer)
Erwin Römkens, pharmacist at Service Apotheek Römkens
Ellen Willemsen, Lifestyle Pharmacist, appointed by the board as Liaison Pharmacist

On Tuesday, June 3, ZANA held its inaugural symposium focused on exnovation—exploring how to strengthen pharmaceutical care while identifying opportunities to de-implement outdated or ineffective processes.
During the symposium, speakers shared their experiences with exnovation in both pharmacy and broader healthcare settings:
Dr. Fatma Karapinar: Welcome and introduction
Yolanda de Graaf: Learning from what truly works
Dr. Marcel Kooij: Learning from what truly adds value
Prof. Dr. Bart van den Bemt: Adding value from secondary care
After the presentations, participants engaged in discussions about how exnovation can be shaped within the pharmacy profession.

The event was a success, and we look forward to future ZANA meetings.