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.
Selection, Procurement and Distribution
Linda Jeffery
Hospital Pharmacy Central Denmark Region
linjef@rm.dk
Ordering medications manually takes time and is prone to human error. Since the electronic patient journal, MidtEPJ, holds detailed records of patients’ medication administration, the idea was to use that data to automate the ordering process. The vision was a system where medication use would automatically trigger a restocking order. As there is no direct interface between MidtEPJ and the pharmacy’s ordering system, Apovision, the project aimed to see if it was possible to transfer data between the two systems. As three (of the five) regions in Denmark use the same EPJ system, and all rely on Apovision, a successful pilot in Central Denmark Region could potentially be scaled nationwide.
This project investigated whether it would be possible to automate medication ordering for a hospital ward’s standard stock by using dispensing data from MidtEPJ. A software robot (RPA) was developed to pull data from MidtEPJ and create a draft requisition in Apovision. The goal was to simulate an automated process that could ease manual workload, improve accuracy, and support better stock management.
The regional IT team worked closely with the pharmacy to design a workaround. Dispensing data were extracted from MidtEPJ, processed by the RPA, and used to generate a draft order in Apovision. A neurological ward was chosen for testing due to its single medication room and relatively consistent data. Fifteen medications were selected based on their high flow, dosage complexity, and formulation. The system triggered a draft order once a set usage threshold was reached. The process remained semi-automated to meet GDP standards and allow pharmacy technician oversight.
The robot successfully generated daily reports and draft orders based on documented usage. However, some discrepancies were found due to documentation habits, timing of data extraction, and product variations. The project showed, for the first time, that automated ordering is technically possible and that a link between MidtEPJ and Apovision can be created.
The concept is scalable, but further work is needed to improve data accuracy and system integration. With the right technical support, the model could be expanded to cover full inventories and be rolled out across other regions.
Clinical Pharmacy Services
Martin Torrente. A; Picaza Iturricha. E; Carmona Oyaga. P; Lombera Sáez. L; Gemio Zumalave. PR; Illodo Becerra. JA; Ibarra Barrueta. O.
The Hospital Pharmacy Department developed a unit to dispense medications in individualized dosing systems for residents of health and social centers with the aim of improving pharmaceutical care. This initiative seeks to ensure safe, efficient and patient‑centred medication supply managementin centers.
A structured survey was designed and distributed to healthcare professionals to evaluate the service provided.
The questionnaire was created through a collaborative brainstorming session with the pharmaceutical team following literature review of existing tools. Thematic domains were defined based on practical experience and service priorities. Each section was assigned to a different pharmacist to ensure clarity, relevance and consistency. The final 36‑item survey, generated using Google Forms, included two descriptive questions (nursing home name and respondent’s professional role) and 34 evaluative questions grouped into four thematic areas: 14 questions on satisfaction with medication deliveries (blister-packed and non-blistered), 6 on incident resolution, 8 on logistics of transport and 6 on overall perception of the impact on professional workflow and patient safety. The survey combines Likert scales, multiple-choice items and open-ended fields to gather both quantitative and qualitative feedback.
The survey captures satisfaction with deliveries and labelling, completeness of orders, incident management and logistics aspects such as punctuality, packaging condition and integrity. It also gathers overall perceptions of the service’s impact on workflow and patient safety. Open‑ended fields encourage reporting of problems, suggestions and observations to ensure a comprehensive view of performance.
The questionnaire will be distributed to health and social centers. Data will be analysed to inform service improvements. Cronbach’s alpha is used to assess internal consistency and p‑values to examine significant differences. Findings will identify strengths and areas for improvement in the pharmaceutical care model, inform training strategies and support future policy decisions.
Selection, Procurement and Distribution
Nabaa Dhuhaibawi, Cristin Ryan, Fionnuala Kennedy
Climate change is a major global health threat, and healthcare contributes approximately 4–5% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Pharmaceuticals account for around one-quarter of this total through production, packaging, distribution, and disposal. Hospitals are under increasing pressure to reduce medicine waste and their associated carbon footprints. Automated Dispensing Cabinets (ADCs) — electronic systems for storing and issuing medicines at the point of care — improve medication safety and efficiency, but their environmental benefits have not been well studied. Understanding whether ADCs can reduce the carbon footprint of dispensed medicines is therefore essential for promoting sustainable healthcare practices.
This study evaluated the impact of ADC implementation on the carbon footprint of dispensed oral medicines in an acute hospital in Dublin. A secondary objective was to examine the carbon footprint distribution of all single-ingredient oral medicines in the hospital formulary, identifying future opportunities for reducing medicine-related emissions.
A retrospective before-and-after study was conducted across six inpatient wards where ADCs were introduced between December 2023 and May 2024. Dispensing data were collected for equivalent two-week periods before and after the intervention using the Isoft® system. Only oral active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) medicines were included. Each medicine’s carbon footprint (gCO₂eq) was obtained from the Ecovamed® database and analysed using descriptive statistics and the Wilcoxon signed-rank test (α = 0.05). For the secondary analysis, all single-ingredient oral APIs from the hospital formulary were classified by their Medicine Carbon Footprint (MCF) rating using the YewMaker® database.
The total carbon footprint of dispensed medicines decreased from 262.58 kg CO₂eq before ADC implementation to 176.94 kg CO₂eq after. Among 99 medicines dispensed in both periods, the median carbon footprint per medicine fell significantly from 644 to 352 g CO₂eq (p < 0.001; r = –0.37). In the formulary analysis, most medicines had low (31.7%) or medium (35.2%) MCF ratings, while only two items—abiraterone acetate and methenamine hippurate—had very high (>1000 g CO₂eq) values.
ADCs appear to significantly reduce medicine-related carbon emissions, suggesting that digital automation supports sustainable pharmacy practice. Future efforts should target high-MCF drugs, promote greener procurement, and expand environmental life-cycle data to maximise carbon reduction across hospital pharmacy services.
Introductory Statements and Governance
F.H. Nielsen
A.G Pedersen
L. Jensen
M. Kristoffersen
P. Stoffersen
T. P Dahl
The shutdown significantly increased the risk of shortages for 271 compounded medicines, many vital for specialised treatments. To secure patient safety and equal access, a coordinated national approach was required to mobilise production capacity and set priorities. Due to the short shelf life of compounded medicines, it was crucial to establish a rapid national response to prevent critical shortages.
Following the sudden shutdown of a compounding pharmacy, a national response was initiated. A joint online platform was established between the National Group for Compounded Medicines and the National Task Force for Medicine Shortages, both composed of representatives from hospital pharmacies. This platform consolidated data and decisions, ensuring planning through a national perspective. Based on the merged data, production was coordinated between remaining compounding pharmacies, both public and private, to ensure supply.
An online platform was established to track stock levels across hospital pharmacies, and clinical criticality was assessed on a 1–3 scale visualised with a colour code showing national coverage in days or weeks. Oral solutions with short shelf life were identified as top priority due to imminent stock depletion. Each product was reviewed for possible substitution, therapeutic alternatives, or justification for compounding. Short-term measures included extemporaneous preparation, while long-term strategies involved outsourcing, substitution, and redistribution of stock. Regular national meetings ensured the remaining two compounding pharmacies developed joint production plans, distributing workload and adjusting capacity.
This initiative demonstrates how hospital pharmacies, through national collaboration, can ensure resilience in crises. Within two months, nearly all medicines were reintroduced, substituted, or outsourced, and supply maintained without major safety incidents. The national approach included both public and private pharmacies, and their collaboration was strengthened.
The model provides a transferable framework for future shortages, proving that collaboration, shared data, and prioritisation tools can ensure patient safety and equity of access. The same model has since been applied to other critical shortages, confirming its broader value.
Selection, Procurement and Distribution
Munksø D., Cramer C., Eriksen M., Bertelsen G.
Around 30,000 patients in the region receive cost-free medicines from hospitals. Boxes were implemented to improve patient flexibility, reduce workload at wards and hospital pharmacies, enhance sustainability, and create a more patient-centered delivery model. However, little was known about patients’ experiences.
Medicine boxes for cost-free hospital medicines were introduced in the Central Denmark Region in 2018. These boxes function like parcel lockers: patients order their medicines and collect them at a box within reasonable distance using a personal code. In 2025, a patient survey was conducted to evaluate satisfaction with the model, identify improvement needs, and explore preferences for future delivery solutions.
A structured questionnaire was distributed to 1000 patients using medicine boxes across the region. Flyers with a QR code linking to the electronic survey were included in medicine deliveries. The questionnaire addressed ordering and collection processes, satisfaction, and improvement suggestions. Responses were analyzed descriptively.
A total of 122 patients responded (12%). Most (97%) ordered via the “My Appointments” app; 75% rated it good/very good.
92% collected medicines themselves, and 90% rated box collection as good/very good. 98% found boxes easy to operate.
Patients valued short distance (66%), flexible collection times (62%), nearby parking (57%), and autonomy regarding time (45%) and place (43%). Overall satisfaction was 4.4/5 stars; most did not miss personal contact.
Main suggestions included shorter waiting time from order to collection, more boxes at new sites, better parking, and free short-term parking.
Focus on expanding capacity at existing box sites and establishing additional locations to improve accessibility. Cooled boxes are already in use but will be rolled out to all sites, ensuring that temperature-sensitive medicines can be handled everywhere. Furthermore, establishing boxes on a non-mainland island is planned, replacing postal delivery and enhancing equal access (max. ~25 km from home) for patients living in remote areas.
Patient Safety and Quality Assurance
Inês Carmo, Ana Parola, Inês Oliveira, Margarida Carvalho, Marta Carvalho, Ana Mirco.
On April 28, 2025, a nationwide blackout affected Portugal, disrupting the national power grid and severely compromising the cold chain of vaccines in primary health care facilities, along with all forms of mobile communication. Given this event, the response by the Pharmaceutical Department (PD) of a Local Health Unit responsible for delivering vaccines to 38 Primary Health Care Facilities (PHCF) required evaluation due to major clinical, financial, and operational risks.
Vaccines exposed to any temperature excursion during storage were identified and placed under quarantine, preferably using an alternative cold storage unit with an independent power source, when available, and distinctly labeled. Through a standardized notification form, each incident was promptly reported within 48 to 72 hours to the cold chain supervisor and PS. During the first week after the blackout, PS reviewed each report to determine the vaccine’s stability and possible return to the supply chain.
Hospital pharmacists collected key data such as temperature variations, time outside safe range, and affected vaccine batches. They consulted reliable sources (databases and Summary of Product Characteristics) and sought information from the supplier laboratory. Upon analyzing all data, PHCF received precise recommendations on suitability for ongoing use.
On April 28, 2025, 40 cold chain incidents were notified, affecting 12,442 vaccines units. After thorough analysis, 12,202 units were authorizes for use, reducing clinical and economic impact. Only 240 units were discarded, resulting in a loss of 6,018.50 € out of a total stock valued at 284 544, 60 €. Joint action by Pharmacist and PHCF assured continuity of patient care and vaccine safety, preventing disruptions to the National Vaccination Program.
The nationwide blackout exposed vulnerabilities in the PHCF cold chain, highlighting the need for more refrigerators, continuous electronic monitoring, backup generators, refrigerated vehicles, and standardized protocols between PS and PHCF.
Patient Safety and Quality Assurance
Bennani I., Cherif Chefchaouni A., Alaoui S., Hajjaj S., El Deeb S., Boufaress S., Hafidi Y., El Merrakchi S., Moukafih B., Bandadi F., El Kartouti A.
Despite their benefits, ADCs present critical vulnerabilities such as inappropriate overrides, stocking errors, look-alike/sound-alike (LASA) drug confusion, workarounds with barcoding, and incomplete profiling. These failures increase the risk of medication errors, stock mismanagement, and patient harm. A structured, universal improvement method was needed to mitigate risks and enhance sustainability.
A safety improvement bundle (SAFE-6) was developed to address recurrent failures of Automated Dispensing Cabinets (ADCs) in clinical units. The approach targeted six critical areas: override governance, smart search and naming, barcode stocking verification, configuration hygiene, workflow integration with BCMA, and monitoring with downtime readiness.
A multi-step audit was performed to identify weaknesses in current ADC use. Root cause analysis guided the development of the SAFE-6 bundle. Each hospital unit implemented one improvement component at a time, followed by data collection and multidisciplinary feedback. Quantitative and qualitative indicators were monitored to evaluate safety gains and operational efficiency.
Implementation of SAFE-6 led to measurable safety improvements: reduction of inappropriate overrides, decreased inventory discrepancies through barcode verification, increased use of profiled dispensing linked to electronic prescribing, and reduction of LASA-related risks through smarter search functions. Staff acceptance improved with clear governance tools and training modules, and quality assurance indicators were integrated into routine audits.
The SAFE-6 approach will be expanded to intensive care and emergency departments, with inter-hospital benchmarking to validate scalability. Future steps include integration of advanced analytics to detect override anomalies and potential diversion signals, as well as collaboration with vendors to enhance user interfaces and standardisation of drug labelling.
Patient Safety and Quality Assurance
Anna Lydon & Jonathan Day
National drug recalls and Government issued Medicines Supply Notifications (MSNs) must be responded to promptly to minimise risk to patients and ensure stock safety. Within our Trust, comprising four hospital sites at different locations, an incident occurred where a recall email received over a bank holiday weekend which went unnoticed. The existing system relied solely on staff checking their emails, which posed a risk of delayed action—particularly during weekends, leave periods, and across multiple sites. This highlighted the need for a more robust and transparent process to ensure that all recalls and MSNs are received, actioned, and tracked in real time.
A digital process was developed using Microsoft Power Automate and Artificial Intelligence (AI) to automate the handling of drug recalls and MSN emails. The flow triggers when a drug recall or MSN email is received. It extracts key information using AI, and automatically distributes the information across the relevant pharmacy and clinical teams across all Trust sites.
When a drug recall or MSN email is received, the attached PDF is analysed with an AI model trained with specific prompts to extract key fields including the drug name, MSN number, date, impact level and required actions. The extracted data automatically populates the MSN or drug recall Excel log – replacing what was a manual data entry process. Power Automate then initiates an approval process and posts a summarised Teams notification into a Teams channel for all relevant members. Each member receives the alert and one person from each site must acknowledge receipt. Following acknowledgement from a member of each site, Power Automate posts a confirmation in the Teams channel, enhancing transparency and providing assurance that the recall has been actioned. AI determines the appropriate clinical speciality for the drug and automatically directs a summary email to the corresponding pharmacists and clinicians working in that area.
The process ensures consistent and timely handling of recalls and MSNs, reducing reliance on individual inbox monitoring. It has improved visibility across all sites, eliminated missed notifications, and significantly reduced manual data entry time. Staff feedback has been positive, with greater confidence that all recalls and MSNs are captured and actioned promptly.
Future plans include integrating automatic escalation plans for unacknowledged alerts. The same model could also be expanded to other time-critical communications, such as National Patient Safety Alerts to further strengthen medicines governance across the organisation.
Patient Safety and Quality Assurance
C Gastalver Martin, O Serna Romero, I Escribano Valenciano, S Buendia Bravo, FJ Alonso Zazo, S Alvarez Atienza, D Garcia Gordillo, M Rubio Garcia, AM Iglesias Bolaños.
Medications prescribed in hospital’s electronic prescribing programs are transferred to automated dispensing devices (ADDs) to prevent medication errors and increase patient safety. This allows nurses to withdraw drugs from ADDs according to the medical prescription, dosage and schedule. However, most intensive care units (ICUs) have their own prescribing systems, usually computerized vital signs charts, which operate independently from the rest of the hospital systems. This fact could be a risk for patient safety.
The objective of this project is to increase the safety of patients admitted to ICUs by integrating prescriptions recorded in the computerized ICU chart with medication withdrawals from the ADD, thereby reducing medication errors.
A secondary objective was to automatically detect medications prescribed in the ICU but not entered into the unit’s ADD, improving medication availability without the need for manual review of the ICU prescription by the pharmacist.
This project increase the safety of patients admitted to the Intensive Care Unit by integrating prescriptions recorded in the automated ICU chart with medication withdrawals from the ADD.
This also permitted to detect automatically medications prescribed in the ICU but not available into the unit’s ADD, increasing medication availability without the need for manual review of the ICU prescription by the pharmacist.
This project was implemented in several phases:
1. Preparation Phase
a. Cleanup of the ICU chart medication database: review of standardized treatment lines, dose adjustments to medication presentations, and removal of duplicates.
b. Mapping of the medication database: assignment of the article codes contained in the ADD to the treatment lines in the ICU chart, so that both systems can communicate with each other.
2. Implementation Phase
a. Integration testing and troubleshooting.
b. Go-live.
The implementation of computer integration of medical prescriptions through automated dispensing devices increased patient safety and reduced medication errors.
It also decreased the need for manual review of the ICU prescription by the pharmacist to ensure medication availability in the ICU ADD.
Pharmaceutical validation of medical prescriptions for ICU patients remains essential to ensure the appropriate treatment of these patients
Selection, Procurement and Distribution
Anne Flou Kristensen
Alice Østergaard Deleuran
When introducing new storage facilities, a risk-based approach according to EU GMP/EudraLex – Volume 4, must be applied during implementation and qualification, to ensure supply continuity, product quality and patient safety.
The existing cold storage facility was worn out and difficult to keep in compliance. The aim of the project was thus to implement a new compliant cold facility to ensure redundance and robustness and to accommodate current work processes related to cold storage.
The implementation was divided into different phases; design and dimensioning, and construction and qualification, where a risk-based approach was applied in each phase, securing the correct measures were considered at the right time. Further, qualification principles presented in EU GMP, Annex 15 were adapted, and a full qualification cycle including SAT, DQ, IQ, OQ and PQ was conducted.
The design and dimensioning of the facilities resulted in two separate cold storage rooms, supplied from two separate redundant refrigerating units. This secures robustness in case of system failure from one of the units, and in case of facility maintenance.
The risk-based qualification plan included the current workflows regarding cooling of large-volume products. A comprehensive DQ and IQ was conducted to secure correct design and installation, and OQ and PQ included different testcases encompassing extensive temperature mapping, hot and cold spot detection, max load-test, crash and recovery testing and daily operations to test if the storage facilities were compliant with correct storage conditions and current workflows.
The cold storage facilities were implemented according to the plan after a successful execution of the qualification. Qualification results identified check points to use in temperature monitoring and defining work-process parameters, e.g. door-opening time related to loading, to mitigate the risks of exceeding correct storing conditions. Further, in case of a deviation related to temperature or established workflows, the extensive results can be applied to evaluate and ensure the quality of stored items. The project demonstrates the importance of adapting quality by design approach, to enhance robustness and consistence when implementing new cold storage facilities.
