Abstract

The e-PIL pilot was set up in 2018 in Belgium and Luxembourg with the objective of demonstrating the equivalence between the paper patient information leaflet (PIL) and the electronic version of this leaflet in providing information on the safe and effective use of medicines in the hospital setting. The results of the pilot demonstrate this equivalence. Additionally, it shows that the absence of the paper leaflet has a positive impact on pharmacy waste management and does not result in any inconvenience to pharmacists’ daily work. Most of the responding hospital pharmacists would agree to the removal of the paper leaflet from all hospital-only medicines. The data supports a potential change to European pharmaceutical legislation introducing the concept of electronic product information (ePI).