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.
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.
The European Association of Hospital Pharmacists (EAHP) is looking for new members to join the Special Interest Group (SIG) on Interoperability in Automation. This initiative aims to address a critical barrier to adoption of automation equipment by European hospital pharmacies interoperability between automation technologies from different vendors. The SIG is set to begin its work in the last quarter of 2024.
Despite the significant proven benefits of automation in improving pharmacy operations and patient safety, only fewer than 30% of European hospital pharmacies are fully or partially automated. A major challenge in the wider adoption of these technologies is the lack of seamless communication and integration between automation systems, which leads to inefficiencies, higher costs, and complexity in this implementation.
The SIG on Interoperability in Automation has been established to tackle this issue. Inspired by the success of standards like DICOM (Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine), the SIG will aim to develop a communication protocol to facilitate integration between the variou automation equipment in hospital pharmacies, building on existing protocols such as HL7, IHE and FHIR. This collaborative eFort will bring together hospital pharmacists and automation vendors to simplify and standardise these processes, ultimately driving higher adoption of automation in hospitals.
EAHP’s SIG on pharmacy automation interoperability will be responsible for developing vendor-neutral standard communication protocol enabling seamless workflow while delivering selected use cases with different equipment from multiple vendors.
Phasing of the project
This project is planned be delivered in 3 phases:
1. Selection of 1-2 common use cases and documentation of a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for each use case. The SOP will describe as precisely as possible the process and the operations executed in the use case, step by step, using a natural language (meaning no technical language). Hospital pharmacists will lead this phase. Vendor’s experts will act as technical consultants.
2. Translation of the SOP in technical specifications for a vendor-neutral communication protocol, ideally based on existing standard protocols such as HL7, FHIR, IHE etc. The technical specifications will describe for each step:
– Content of the message (input)\
– Process (output)
– Structure and format of the message
Participating vendors will lead this phase while hospital pharmacists will act as consultants; during this phase, vendors are also expected to develop and/or adapt thei equipment to the standard communication protocol so that it could be easily integrated to any other equipment compliant with this standard without further customisation.
3. Live testing of the communication protocol during a Connectathon event. This hands-o testing environment will enable participating vendors and hospital pharmacists to evaluate the protocol’s effectiveness in real-world scenarios. Based on the insights and feedback gathered during the Connectathon, the protocol will be refined and adapted as necessary to ensure optimal performance and interoperability. This iterative process will help to address any challenges encountered during testing and ensure that the protocol is robust, reliable, and ready for broader implementation.
Expected outcomes
The SIG’s expected outcomes are :
– detailed SOPs for each selected use case (in Phase 1)
– detailed technical specifica6ons and suppor6ng documentation of a released standard communication protocol (from Phase 2).
The SIG members will meet regularly to drive forward these objectives and develop solutions that will benefit hospital pharmacies across Europe.
The call for expressions of interest is directed at individuals with relevant experience in hospital pharmacy automation and system integration. Applicants should meet the following criteria:
SIG candidates should:
Desired hospital pharmacists member’s profile
– Clinical and Technical Expertise : pharmacists with a strong understanding of hospital pharmacy operations, as well as experience with pharmacy automation systems, medication management software, and related healthcare IT systems.
– Experience with Automation Projects : pharmacists who have been directly involved in planning, implementing, or managing pharmacy automation projects, including the integration of robots, dispensing cabinets, and medication management solutions. Their hands-on experience will provide the SIG with practical knowledge of the challenges and opportunities associated with automation.
– Leadership and Strategic Vision: ideally, pharmacists who hold a leadership position within their departments, such as pharmacy directors, managers, or lead pharmacists.
– Interest in Innovation and Improvement: pharmacists who are passionate about advancing the field through innovation, continuous improvement, and the adoption of technologies that can enhance the efficiency and safety of hospital pharmacy operations.
Commitment and Meeting Schedule
The SIG will meet at least once per month for approximately 2 hours. Members are expected to dedicate an additional 1 to 3 hours for preparation and follow-up tasks, depending on the workload determined during each meeting. This SIG is expected to make meaningful progress over the course of 12 months, with tangible outputs aimed at fostering greater interoperability in hospital pharmacy automation.
In order to ensure a wide range of perspectives, geographic diversity will be a key factor in the selection of SIG members. The total number of participants will be limited to 20 to ensure effective collaboration.
Expressions of interest from pharmacists meeting the eligibility criteria should be submitted by email to: Pedro.DaCosta.Pereira@eahp.eu. In order to be deemed admissible, applications must provide EAHP with a:
The Kick-off meeting will take place on November, 2024.
This Call for Expression of Interest closes on October 15th, 2024 at 11:59 PM CET. EAHP reserves the right to disregard any application sent after that date/time. Successful candidates will be contacted after the application deadline has passed.
