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.
Clinical Pharmacy Services
Margot DESCHAMPS, Nejib BORGAAOUI, Jimmy ROSE, Jennifer LE GRAND, Louise NICOLAS
One of the clinical pharmacy activities in the thoracic oncology department is the analysis the interactions between chemotherapy and Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM). Cancer patients often seek alternative treatments which requires a rigorous evaluation of potential interactions. The goal of this study is to assess the methods used to analyze these interactions.
To ensure traceability of the analysis, a tracking table for requests was created. The requests, coming from doctors, nurses, or patients, are recorded with key information such as name, date of birth, and the purpose of the analysis. Five information sources were selected, including the Herbal Medicine section of MedlinePlus, the website of the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC), a database of plants and dietary supplements published by the French National Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health Safety, a database from the European Scientific Cooperative on Phytotherapy, and a publication from the journal Medical Oncology (Vol 36, number 45, 2019).
In nine months, 25 interaction requests were processed, 70% of which were from doctors. The analysis took an average of 30 minutes and were completed within 24 to 48 hours. The interactions mainly concerned oral chemotherapies (n=18), particularly Osimertinib (n=13). The requests involved various CAM (essential oils, medicinal plants, dietary supplements), with an average of four products per request. Desmodium was the most frequently analyzed product (n=5). In total, for 24 CAM, including Desmodium, was not recommended for use after analysis due the drug interaction risk and modification of liver metabolism of chemotherapies.
It is difficult to prohibit CAM to patients, and most substances can be taken at recommended doses. However, determining the precise dosage at which an interaction with chemotherapy occurs is complex due to the lack of a single reference. Using various sources allows for cross-referencing expertise and obtaining complementary information. For instance, MedlinePlus offers a generalist approach, while MSKCC focuses on interactions in oncology. Using international sources broadens the analysis and fills geographical or cultural gaps.
For the future, we would like to develop a tool that compiles the five data sources in order to be exhaustive in our future analysis.
Patient Safety and Quality Assurance
Teimori Kaveh
Hospitalised patients often need multiple IV drugs simultaneously which are commonly mixed in-line before entering the bloodstream. Physicochemically incompatible drugs cause reduced efficacy, clogged catheters and drug precipitation, which can be harmful or even fatal. The risks add uncertainty to the stressful working environment for clinical practitioners. According to a local 2012 survey 68% (n=44) of Sahlgrenska University Hospital (SUH) intensive care unit (ICU) nurses had co-administered drugs uncertain of their compatibility. Hospital pharmacists were hence asked for guidance to optimise compatibility and patient safety.
Nurses, doctors and pharmacists were provided with accessible and evidence-based information on IV drug compatibility in order to improve drug therapy, working environment and patient safety.
Drug compatibility data was collected by hospital pharmacists who assessed its applicability to Swedish conditions. The results were documented in charts and procedure documents. A project for creating a database was initiated in collaboration with the IT organisation in Västra Götaland Region (VGR). A survey was designed to evaluate how the SUH’s ICU nurses experienced the database. Collaboration with nurses, doctors and clinical pharmacists helped to improve the quality of the database.
Drug compatibility lectures were given to nurses, doctors and pharmacists on a continuous basis. Procedure documents were implemented in eight clinics. A peer-reviewed workflow was established. The database contains over 2,500 assessed drug combinations. Over 700 nurses, doctors and pharmacists from 11 counties plus Norway and Denmark have requested access to the database. Clinics avoid drug mixing by choosing multi-lumen catheters with greater capacity. The 2016 survey showed that 88% (n=86) of SUH’s ICU nurses had co-administered drugs uncertain of their compatibility. The database affected their decisions in 93% (n=45) of the cases, 85% (n=34) found information easier and 88% (n=34) felt more certain when making decisions. A new pharmacist role – IV Compatibility Manager – was introduced and implemented in VGR. In 2016, this work received the national annual award Guldpillret (‘The Golden Pill’).
In the next years, the database will become nationally available and integrated into electronic journal systems. Compatibility issues may then be identified when prescribing, further improving patient safety.
