EAHP represents over 30,000 hospital pharmacists across 37 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 professional
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, Germany, Italy 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.
The Early Career Network aims to empower early-career pharmacists by sharing opportunities, insights, and success stories from across 25 member countries.
Together, we’re building a stronger, more connected hospital pharmacy community: one story, one country, one pharmacist at a time.
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.
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.
Clinical Pharmacy Services
Eugenia Serramontmany Morante, Patricia Garcia Ortega, Lorena Garcia Basas, Pablo Latorre Garcia, Pilar Rovira Torres, Laura Maños Pujol, Isabel Cidoncha Muñoz, M. Queralt Gorgas Torner
The provision of outpatient oncology services by pharmacists is still limited, but it is an emerging role. It can add value while increasing the quality of patient care required, maximizing the likelihood of achieving positive outcomes and thus improving the patient’s quality of life. It is important to incorporate clinical pharmacists into outpatient clinics to ensure the safe use of investigational drugs and guarantee the best treatment for the patient.
The oncology clinical trials pharmacy team initiated an outpatient clinic at a tertiary hospital. This enabled review of patients’ medications, monitoring of interactions, appropriate oral chemotherapy counseling, design of medication diaries and instructions, discussion of side effects, as well as other dietary and daily living recommendations.
A multidisciplinary team was formed: pharmacy, medical, nursing, ancillary and administrative staff, to discuss circuits and strategies to address outpatient pharmacy clinic.
The pharmaceutical care program was implemented gradually during 6 months, first in phase I, then phases II and III clinical trials.
Factors including appointment scheduling, patient prioritization, clinic room availability as well as detailed definition of pharmaceutical activity were discussed, in order to have a standard procedure for all patients included in a clinical trial.
The group continued to meet weekly to further discuss the progress of the pharmaceutical care program and any obstacles and unforeseen events.
Medication has been dispensed to 8447 patients in the outpatient pharmacy, of which 1172 patients have been attended by the clinical pharmacist during the first 8 months (January-August 2021) of the programme’s implementation.
Pharmaceutical care at the first day of treatment has been provided to 275 patients to explain how to take the treatment and resolve doubts. The concomitant medication of 312 patients has been reviewed for the screening and 425 telephone queries about concomitant medication have been resolved.
The evolutionary change in cancer care along with the increase in the number of clinical trials and its complexity will emphasize the need to include the oncology pharmacist in the cancer care team. The role of a clinical pharmacist is vital to ensure the safety and controlled use of the drug, ensuring the best possible outcomes.
Production and Compounding
FRANCESCA VAGNONI, ANDREA MARINOZZI, SABRINA GUGLIELMI, CHIARA CAPONE, FRANCESCA MURA, ADRIANA POMPILIO, SIMONE LEONI
The management of CT requires thorough documentary evidence and well-organized reporting system in compliance with the Good Clinical Practice. Since 2009, the entire onco-haematology workflow is fully-controlled by information technology devices and robotic systems to prevent medication errors and guarantee data integrity. The implementation of APOTECAtrial was aimed to extend the same level of control to CTs.
In 2018, a clinical trial (CT) managing system (APOTECAtrial) was integrated into the existing fully-automated workflow of the chemotherapy production unit. APOTECAtrial was developed to enable real-time visualization of CT-related data and trace the processing of investigational (IMP) and non-investigational (NIMP) medical products, such as delivery, assignment, preparation, return, and disposal.
A team of hospital pharmacists, physicians, clinical data managers, and IT specialists analysed the CT workflow and defined the system specifications. Data related to IMP/NIMPs (both for parenteral and oral administration), patients enrolled, and investigator/sponsor affiliations were entered into APOTECAtrial and sorted by CT. The onco-haematology unit’s electronic prescribing system was bidirectionally interfaced with APOTECAtrial. Aseptic preparation of patient-specific injectable therapies was implemented in the supporting device for manual preparation that checks dosage accuracy and identity by photographic and barcode recognition.
Since 2018, the overall number of CTs managed was 95. In total, 81 IMPs/NIMPs and 135 patients were entered into the system, while 2740 injectable therapies were prepared, 690 oral medications and 60 pre-filled syringes delivered. The following major objectives were achieved: automated inventory accounting and stock management, reduced manual time-consuming activities (i.e. documentation, transcription), standardized reports in digital not-editable format, and full traceability. In addition, audit trail tool tracks all user edits and changes performed at any stages of the CT management by electronically recording user’s name, date, and time. APOTECAtrial was evaluated by clinical research associates (CRA), clinical research organizations (CRO) and CT sponsors and approved for use in the daily clinical practice.
The project represents a good example of multidisciplinary collaboration focused on improving the quality of the processes in healthcare settings. The implementation of information technology and automation ensures improved data integrity, safety, and working efficiency, which are key determinants for managing CTs in hospital pharmacies.
Patient Safety and Quality Assurance
Paula Arrabal-Durán, Carmen Herrero-Domínguez-Berrueta, María Norberta Sánchez-Fresneda, Ana Mur-Mur, Ana Herranz-Alonso, María Sanjurjo-Sáez
MI and PI are normally recorded in Hospital Pharmacy Services as a method for evaluating safety. Nevertheless, classical methods for reporting MI do not allow for a correct classification in the field of clinical trials. The reason is their more complex processes involving drugs compared to the processes in daily clinical practice. If there are no specific categories, the information obtained by recording usually gets lost and could not reflect exactly what occurred. In September 2016, a clinical tool to notify MI and PI was implemented in the Pharmacy Service, with the aim of unifying their classification criteria and gathering complete information for analysis and further implementation of improvement measures.
A database to notify medication incidents (MI) and pharmaceutical interventions (PI) in the Clinical Trials Unit was developed in the Pharmacy Service of a tertiary hospital.
All the processes involving drugs in clinical trials were evaluated by a Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA). For each process, the possible incidents and their resulting effects on the patient were recorded. After that, a database was designed in Microsoft® Access with defined lists of choices to allow pharmacists notify both MI and PI that occur in the Clinical Trials Unit.
A database with the following information has been implemented:
a) Identification of the MI:
1. Date of the MI.
2. Number of patient.
3. Clinical Trial protocol.
4. Investigational product.
b) Process in which the MI took place (16 options).
c) Process in which the MI was detected (16 options).
d) Process that caused the MI (24 options).
e) Person who detected the MI (9 options).
f) Did any PI take place? (Yes/No).
g) PI performed (12 options).
h) Did the MI reach the patient? (Yes/No).
i) MI that reached the patient (21 options).
j) Patient outcome (8 options).
k) Effect in the clinical trial (4 options).
The implemented notification system will be further expanded and adapted over time.
Future aim is to analyse MI for establishing improvement measures and checking their results.
