EAHP represents over 29,000 hospital pharmacists across 36 member countries. EAHP represents and develops the hospital pharmacy profession within Europe in order to ensure the continuous improvement of care and outcomes for patients in the hospital setting. This is achieved through science, research, education, practice, as well as sharing best-practice and responsibility with other healthcare professionals.
The EAHP Board, elected for three-year terms, oversees the association’s activities. Comprising directors responsible for core functions, it meets regularly to implement strategic goals. Supported by EAHP staff, the Board controls finances, coordinates congress organization, and ensures compliance with statutes and codes of conduct.
The EAHP staff supports the Board in executing EAHP’s mission. The Staff assists in financial management, events organisations, policy activities and all EAHP projects. The EAHP staff works closely with EAHP’s members and ensures the effective communication all relevant stakeholders.
The first member countries were Belgium, Britain, Denmark, France, the Federal Republic of Germany and The Netherlands in 1972. EAHP has now 36 EAHP members and 2 Associate Members. EAHP is open to countries members of the Council of Europe and since 2022 to organisations representing the interests of hospital pharmacists from outside the Council of Europe (Associate Membership)
EAHP’s structure is also composed by different standing committes: EAHP Scientific Committee, EAHP Education Executive Committee and the EAHP CTF Steering Committee.
At EAHP, we are committed to transparency in our governance, ethical standards, and funding practices. This section provides open access to our foundational documents, including the EAHP Statutes, Code of Conduct, and Funding Sources. By sharing these resources, we aim to uphold accountability and foster trust with our members, partners, and the public.
Keep up with all EAHP’s events and webinars. Contact the team at info@eahp.eu should you have any questions about upcoming events or activities.
Here you can find all upcoming events organised by EAHP and by all its members and associate members. Do not hesitate to contact the events team at events@eahp.eu should you have any questions about the organisation of these events.
Hospital pharmacists conduct a critical role in the care of patients in hospitals. Learn more about what they do here and in all the pages under Hospital Pharmacy practice and Policy.
Self-Assessment
SILCC
Closed SIGs
EAHP brings together experts from many areas of hospital pharmacy practice providing and highlighting good local sustainable practices as that can be up-scaled and shared with other countries. The EAHP Working Group on Sustainability has the aim of reducing the environmental burden of the hospital pharmacy services.
The European Association of Hospital Pharmacists (EAHP), and its 36 member country platforms are creating a Common Training Framework for the hospital pharmacy education in Europe. The goal of this project is to allow the free movement of hospital pharmacists within the European Union.
The European Association of Hospital Pharmacists (EAHP) and the European Society of Clinical Pharmacy (ESCP) have collaboratively developed the Oath to Society. The Oath to Society is all encompassing and acts as a contract for excellence in providing compassionate patient care, working as part of the healthcare team and advancing the pharmacy profession, and showcasing how clinical and hospital pharmacists work every day
A day created to highlight the importance and to celebrate the work done by hospital pharmacies. This day celebrates all hospital pharmacy teams.
Catch up with EAHP’s press releases
Find all EAHP relevant publication like the EAHP Surveys, annual reports and the history books.
The European Journal of Hospital Pharmacy (EJHP) is the only official journal of the European Association of Hospital Pharmacists (EAHP) and is committed to advancing the science, practice and profession of hospital pharmacy. As the premier communication platform for hospital pharmacists worldwide, EJHP is a major source for continuing education as well as updates on advances in the practice and standard of pharmaceutical care for patients.
When EAHP and Hospital pharmacists appear in the news.
EAHP publishes a monthly EU monitor with updates about the latest EAHP initiatives and information relevant for the hospital pharmacy profession.
Sponsor Channel
The Sponsor Channel is designed to maximise visibility and engagement, allowing sponsors to connect with the hospital pharmacy community and partners in a dynamic and interactive environment. From product demonstrations to networking sessions, the Sponsor Channel offers a range of opportunities for sponsors to showcase their offerings and generate leads in the new EAHP Website.
EAHP advocates for the prudent use of antimicrobial drugs through antibiotic stewardship to ensure efficient therapy for patients with life-threatening infections.
EAHP Call for the expression of Interest – Working Group on Antimicrobial Resistance
EAHP is launching a Call for Expressions of Interest inviting volunteer hospital pharmacists and experts to apply for membership in a new EAHP working group. This group will examine the use of antimicrobials in hospitals and investigate the spread of antimicrobial resistance.
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is currently one of the biggest global health threats. Over the past decades, the ability of microorganisms to resist the effects of antimicrobials has grown significantly. This has led to a concerning reduction in the availability of effective antibiotics for treating infections caused by resistant bacteria. For patients, this resistance means that infections may persist longer, resulting in extended hospital stays, increased healthcare expenses, and a heightened risk of the infection spreading to others. To preserve the effectiveness of antimicrobial drugs and to prevent the continued spread of antimicrobial resistance, a comprehensive intervention strategy that includes prudent use of anti-infective agents, vaccination programs, and robust stewardship efforts is needed.
Background
EAHP represents and develops the hospital pharmacy profession within Europe in order to ensure the continuous improvement of care and outcomes for patients in the hospital setting. Hospital Pharmacists are at the forefront in infection prevention and actively support and promote the responsible use of antimicrobials.
Scope of the activities
The work of the group will start in February 2025. The exact project plan and deliverables will be decided by the Chair and the Working Group during the kick off of the project. The main objective will be to collect data from some hospitals interested in participating, to analyse the use of antimicrobials in hospitals and to show through a study how antimicrobial resistance is spreading. This would also help increasing awareness on the topic.
Composition of the Working Group
The group will be composed of around 15-20 volunteers. All meetings will be held virtually. Applicants that are not hospital pharmacists are also encouraged to apply, in particular other healthcare professionals working in the hospital setting or relevant experts in antimicrobial stewardship. You can find below a list of the main requirements expected from the volunteers that will join the Working Group.
Selection Criteria
The call for the expression of interest is primary addressed to hospital pharmacists and other professionals with experience and knowledge on antimicrobial stewardship of hospital pharmacists and healthcare systems.
Geographic diversity will be one overarching criterion applied in the selection of the Working Party members.
Application procedure
Interested candidates should submit a CV and a short motivation letter to the EAHP Lead Policy Officer at Anna.Mirabile@eahp.eu. The deadline for applications is 15 January 2025.
Combatting infectious diseases requires the implementation of a comprehensive intervention package comprised of measures including but not limited to prudent anti-infective use, vaccination and stewardship. To maintain the efficacy of antimicrobial drugs and to prevent the further spread of antimicrobial resistance, it is essential to have an interprofessional approach in the healthcare setting and during the transition of care. Hospital pharmacists in Europe are ready to champion infection prevention and contribute and promote the prudent use of antimicrobials through the enforcement of antimicrobial stewardship. To improve patient outcomes proactive steps need to be taken.
The Position Paper covers three main areas: (i) stewardship – highlighting the need to strengthen the prudent use of antimicrobials in human medicine and the need for further implementation of Antimicrobial Stewardship Programmes; (ii) the One Health Approach – relating to investing in prevention measures and having adequate use of antimicrobials in veterinary medicine and intensive livestock farming; and (iii) incentives – addressing the lack of antibiotic development and keeping old and established but still essential antibiotics on the market.
Consequently, EAHP
EAHP’s Position Paper on Infectious Diseases and Antimicrobial Resistance is available HERE
In 2019, ECDC collected information via a first-of-its kind survey on European healthcare workers’ knowledge and attitudes about antibiotics. The results for all healthcare workers’ were made available by ECDC during the European Antibiotic Awareness Day on 18th November 2019.
1204 hospital pharmacists from the European Union (EU)/European Economic Area (EEA) participated in the survey. The hospital pharmacy specific data presented by EAHP was kindly shared by ECDC in order to disseminate it to a wider audience. The survey questions explored both the extend of the participants knowledge about antibiotics, their appropriate use, possible risks and side effects, as well as how informed, involved and supported hospital pharmacists felt in their efforts in promoting prudent use of antibiotics.
Overall it can be concluded that the hospital pharmacists that participated in the study on healthcare workers’ knowledge and attitudes about antibiotics and antibiotic resistance have a good knowledge about their prudent use. Areas for improvement that were identified included increasing the provision of advice to patients, enhancing the uptake of antibiotic stewardship teams in hospitals and continuing to ensure that the knowledge about resistance and the prudent use of hospital pharmacists remains up to date.
EAHP’s analyse of hospital pharmacists’ knowledge, attitudes and behaviours on antibiotics, antibiotic use and antibiotic resistance can be accessed HERE.
ECDC has made available useful resources for healthcare professionals working in hospitals. These include:
In February 2022 the European Commission (COM) put forward a call for evidence on Antimicrobial resistance for a proposal for a Council Recommendation which is expected in the last quarter of the year. It tries to do another push for the fight against AMR, by connecting the different initiatives on the theme. EAHP welcomed COM’s call for evidence focused on AMR, since it is in hospitals where the human cost of AMR is often felt the most. Infections can travel quickly within these institutions and the ability to prevent and treat infections is a key factor for halting unnecessary complications and deaths. It is essential that supporting hospitals to tackle the threat of AMR is included in a ‘One Health’ approach. For EAHP the European-wide application of antimicrobial stewardship teams is paramount for curbing the inappropriate use of antibiotics. Based on the success of the Dutch example where these teams already exist, EAHP encouraged the COM to put a strong emphasis on the establishment and implementation of antimicrobial stewardship teams in all EU hospitals to achieve the aim of the initiative seeking to strengthen patient safety. In this sense, it is important to note that EAHP created an Open Learning course titled “Antibiotic stewardship advanced” discusses the role of clinical pharmacists in antibiotic stewardship.
