About the APO
The Academy of Patient Organizations (APO) is an educational and developmental project designed for Czech patient organizations. APO was created by the Association for Innovative Pharmaceutical Industry (AIPI) and currently associates more than 100 patient organizations that wish to grow and advance. And this is what APO is helping them with.
APO’S GOALS ARE ESPECIALLY AS FOLLOWS:
- To support the independence and professionalization of Czech patient organizations;
- To promote their long-term development;
- To improve their negotiation and communication skills;
- To improve the quality of their internal processes and the transparency of their financing;
- To acquire funds from Czech and European sources;
- To explain legal procedures and the rights and obligations of patients.
The Academy has been available to Czech patient organizations since 2012. During that time, the Academy organized over 160 all-day seminars focused on various topics. All topics of these seminars, including working materials, are always available in the Seminars section. APO’s seminars respond not only to the needs of APO members, but also to external circumstances and trends, including training in digital skills, in working with online platforms, such as Microsoft Teams, and in effective use of social media.
Patient organizations have the opportunity to consult with different experts certain issues and areas during individual consultations that APO has organized on a yearly basis since 2019. APO also provides its members with the opportunity to present themselves in, and to get information from, regular APO Bulletin that has more than 300 subscribers and is distributed electronically not only to member patient organizations, but also to representatives of the Ministry of Health CR, the Czech Medical Society JEP, the State Institute for Drug Control, representatives of pharmaceutical industry and other.
APO has organized APO Alumni every year since 2014 as well as regular patient conferences since 2015.
HOW TO REGISTER?
Any Czech patient organization registered in the list of patient organizations by the Ministry of Health can participate in the project. If you are interested in joining the Academy of Patient Organizations, please do not hesitate to contact Zuzana Komárková, the APO project manager, via email.
HOW IS THE PROJECT FINANCED?
The participation of patient organizations in the APO project is free of charge. The operating costs of the Academy are covered in full by the Association of Innovative Pharmaceutical Industry. In 2012 and 2013, the project was also financed by the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufactures of America (PhRMA).
