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.
Production and Compounding
Peder Nygard, Helle-Brit Fiebrich-Westra, Elise Smolders
The aim of this project was to reduce paclitaxel waste caused by cancellation of administrations. Standardised dose bands make interchangeability of already reconstituted paclitaxel bags easier, as more patients use the same dose. This could potentially save drug- and material waste and costs even as manpower.
Paclitaxel fixed dose bands were created for patients treated with a weekly dose of 80 mg/m2.
In consultation with prescribers the dose bands for paclitaxel where created (see table). These dosages were implemented as a dose-rounding rules in the drug preparation software (Hix 6.2, ChipSoft BV). The maximum deviation for dose-rounding rules for paclitaxel in our hospital is 10% of the prescribed dose. Dosage ≤72mg or >200mg were rounded as normal.
Prescribed dose (mg) Dose-band (mg) m2 (dose 80 mg/m2
>72 ≤88 78 1.0
>88 ≤102 96 1.2
>102 ≤116 114 1.4
>116 ≤136 126 1.6
>136 ≤152 144 1.8
>152 ≤168 162 2.0
>168 ≤184 174 2.2
>184 ≤200 192 2.4
These rules were implemented in April 2022. Data from 1 May 2022 to 31 August 2022 is compared with the same time period in 2021. In 2022, a total of 729 infusions where prepared compared with 872 infusions in 2021.
In this 4 month time period in 2022 a total of 14 different dosages were prescribed, compared with 24 in the same time period in 2021. Additionally, interchangeability was improved as the top 3 dosages prepared by the pharmacy were: 144 mg (36%), 162 mg (22%), and 126 mg (19%) compared with 144 mg (17%), 138 mg (14%), and 126 mg (10%) in 2021.
Furthermore, in 2021 we discarded 33 prepared dosages of paclitaxel of which three infusions could be reused. Compared to 13 discarded dosages in 2022 of which eight were reused giving a reduction of 25 infusions less waste (83% reduction, savings ~2500 euros).
Pharmacists need to be instructed to adapt these rounding rules, which must decrease the variation in dosages and thus waste. Secondly, this project will be monitored the upcoming year and evaluated together with prescribers. The aim is to implement dose bands for paclitaxel dosages 175 mg/m2 and other chemotherapeutic drugs (eg, oxaliplatin, docetaxel, cyclophosphamide).
Production and Compounding
Marta García-Queiruga, Begoña Feal-Cortizas, José María Gutiérrez-Urbón, Andrea Luaces-Rodríguez, Alejandro Martínez-Pradeda, Sandra Rotea-Salvo, Carla Fernandez-Oliveira, Víctor Giménez-Arufe, Luis Margusino-Framiñán, Isabel Martín-Herranz
Daptomycin is an intravenous antibiotic usually prepared in Hospital Pharmacy services. Normally it is dosed based on body weight, which requires each intravenous mixture to be prepared in an individual manner for each patient. This might lead to an increased assistance workload in elaboration areas, a higher number of errors in the preparation and high costs due to waste materials generated during preparation.
The aim of this study is to describe the preparation of intravenous daptomycin by dose banding, a system in which daptomycin doses are rounded up or down in order to standardize and protocolize the preparation of intravenous mixtures as much as possible.
In order to improve this situation, dose banding strategy was implemented in February 2019: the obtained final dose was rounded in such a way that only mixtures of 500, 700 and 850 mg were prepared (in agreement with Hospital Pharmacy and Infectious and Microbiology medical teams) , following this scheme:
PRESCRIBED DOSE PREPARED DOSE
< 400 mg Prescribed dose (individualized)
400–599 mg 500 mg
≥600–799 mg 700 mg
≥800 mg 850 mg
Previous year before starting dose banding strategy (2018), 5493 individualized doses of daptomycin were prepared for 437 patients in our Pharmacy service. Between June 2020 and June 2021, 2680, 2555 and 997 units of daptomycin 500, 700 and 850 mg, respectively, were prepared for 360 patients. Batches of standardized doses were prepared in advance and kept refrigerated (stability of 10 days in 100 ml of physiological saline) until dispensation. In addition, during the same period, 15 patients (4 from pediatrics) received 209 individualized doses (3.2% of the total doses) due to their low body weight.
This strategy might decrease the number of errors in preparation and reduce processing times, which is essential since early appropriate antibiotic treatment in severe infection has been associated with better outcomes. Dose banding model could be extrapolated to other drugs with good physical, medical and microbiological stability in dilution, which are frequently prescribed and when few dose bands can cover most of the prescriptions.
Production and Compounding
Chemotherapies are generally prescribed and produced as a function of Body Surface Area (BSA). The most recent literature recommends that marketed drugs continue to use BSA-based dosing supported by clinical evidence. If not, it recommends DB with adjustments for other important parameters.
Determine which of the drugs compounded in our centralised chemotherapy production unit were potential candidates for dose banding (DB) for adults, whilst guaranteeing patient safety and meeting the needs of physicians, pharmacists and nurses.
The database of chemotherapy doses produced between 2010 and 2013 was analysed to define a Top 10 chart of the most common protocols and compounds. Dosage patterns were analysed and new bands were modelled using exponential calculus in order to aid in DB decision-making. Discussions with interdisciplinary teams and senior physicians took place in order to promote acceptance of the project and its deployment.
Oncology professionals requested an integration of bands into the electronic prescription system, the possibility to prescribe doses above those suggested using BSA and a maximum 5% margin of difference to the usual prescribed dose. They highlighted the necessity of maintaining “ready for administration” doses. For example, in 2013, 613 infusion bags of gemcitabine were produced in 111 different doses, ranging from 266 to 2900 mg. Following the new specifications, just two bands (2000 mg and 1805 mg) already fulfil 50% of annual production needs; producing five band doses streamlines 90% of annual production needs.
Chemotherapeutic doses can now be prepared in bands and the pharmacy activity can be rationalised by producing doses in batches. The imminent introduction of automation should ensure accuracy of the doses delivered. Future studies should examine product stability so that chemotherapy production planning becomes highly efficient.
