Rolling work plan
The Patient Forum is a platform for dialogue and exchange on topics relevant to patients regarding the regulation of medicines and medical devices. The HPRA established the forum to give patients in Ireland a voice in the regulatory process, especially in areas of patient safety, licensing, and use, and how the Authority communicates with wider society.
The forum is based on a partnership approach to empower patients so their experience and perspectives are heard, acknowledged, and actioned. This approach aims to bring about positive improvements in the regulation of health products.
As set out in the Terms of Reference for the forum, members will work with the HPRA to prepare an annual rolling work plan. The plan will include topics aligned with the purpose of the forum. Agreed topics will also be of common interest to both patients and the HPRA.
The work plan will be kept under review. It will be updated as needed based on progress against agreed actions.
Members of the forum and the HPRA discussed the work plan for 2025 at a meeting on 10 December 2024. The work plan was later agreed at a meeting on 04 June 2025.
Topics for 2025
The focus for 2025 is to continue to deepen the engagement between the HPRA and forum members. The forum will continue work on topics from the 2024 workplan and explore new topics identified as a priority.
As part of the rolling work plan for 2025, the Patient Forum will:
- Prepare an annual report to the Authority on the work of the patient forum in 2024.
- Continue the review as per section 4.5 of the terms of reference concerning membership, including the diversity and inclusivity of representation of the forum. Relevant entities will be consulted to strengthen an inclusive approach within the forum.
- Explore approaches to better enable forum members access to meeting information.
- Hold a patient speaker programme event for HPRA employees, building upon the success of previous events. In this initiative, representatives of the patient community are welcomed to speak to HPRA employees and share first hand accounts of their experiences and challenges. It ensures that the views and values of patients in Ireland are central to the HPRA's regulatory work.
- The Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland (PSI) will deliver a dedicated meeting to introduce its role as the regulator for the pharmacy profession in Ireland, its interface with the HPRA, and its strategy for engaging with patients.
- Discuss the challenges and opportunities of emerging digital health technologies and the role of the HPRA with forum members.
- Provide members with an overview of interchangeable medicines (often referred to as generic substitution) in Ireland and the HPRA's role in establishing lists of interchangeable medicines.
Download the 2025 rolling work plan of the HPRA Patient Forum in full on the link below. You can also view previous workplans.