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.
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.
Patient Safety and Quality Assurance
Zora Ćetković, Dragana Rajinac, Ivana Baralić , Jelena Marković, Darija Kuruc Poje, Miroslav Kota, Špela Urh, Irina Tegelj, Vesna Bizjak, Dragana Mitrić, Tijana Kovačević, Andrej Pečet, Irena Radivojša, Sanja Filkova, Vesna Bašić-Milošević
Medication errors regarding reconstitution and administration of parenteral antibiotics are frequent in hospitals. In our study conducted in 12 Southeastern European hospitals in 2021, we demonstrated the need of parenteral antibiotic reconstitution/dilution database in hospital pharmacy practice. Moreover, according to European Statements of Hospital Pharmacy (statement 5.5.), implementation of electronic decision support system by HPs should help to decrease the risk of medication errors. The purpose of software tools is to gather all relevant information regarding parenteral antibiotic reconstitution/dilution and make them easily accessible.
A group of hospital pharmacists (HPs) from 6 Southeastern European countries created new software tools (a mobile-responsive website and mobile applications for Android and iOS) for providing information on reconstitution and administration of parenteral antibiotics in collaboration with software developer. These tools contain parenteral antibiotic reconstitution/dilution database in seven different languages (English, Serbian, Croatian, Slovenian, Bosnian, Macedonian and Montenegrin).
Technical requirements for website and mobile applications were designed by HPs. The development of these software tools was carried out by a software developer and funded by European Association of Hospital Pharmacists (EAHP). The final version of the software went through a rigorous evaluation, conducted by HPs during development and all technical problems were resolved consequently.
· Designing and developing these software tools helps HPs to provide evidence-based information about parenteral antibiotic reconstitution/dilution at the point of care, thus improving decision-making process and patient safety. · Reconstitution of parenteral antibiotics in wards is efficient and smooth. · Oral and written instructions for parenteral antibiotic reconstitution/dilution are replaced by electronic decision support tools, designed to prevent medication errors. · HP’s interventions are required to support the use of these software tools.
Our next challenge is wider use of these software tools in order to ensure the appropriate reconstitution/dilution of parenteral antibiotics in wards by nurses and physicians. These software tools are applicable in hospital setting and can be used by all regional hospitals. Additionally, they can be easily incorporated in hospital information system. We also plan to update periodically antibiotic reconstitution/dilution database, as new information becomes available.
Clinical Pharmacy Services
Miguel Angel Carvajal-Sanchez, Josefa Leon-Villar, Pilar Pacheco-Lopez, Javier Ibañez-Caturla, Paula Torrano-Belmonte, Lydia Fructuoso-Gonzalez, Juan Antonio Gutierrez-Sanchez, Maria Hernandez-Sanchez
In recent years, we have witnessed a significant increase in the number of thermolabile pharmaceutical specialities, which makes it necessary to keep strict control of the storage temperature from manufacture to administration.
In this context, patient education is a fundamental step in ensuring that these medicines are administered effectively and safely.
A study was carried out to determine the quality of the information provided by Hospital Pharmacy Service (HPS) professionals to patients regarding the storage of thermolabile medicines (TM) at home.
After analysing the variability of the results, we established in a protocolised manner the necessary and sufficient information items to be included in the pharmaceutical advice to patients regarding the storage of this type of medicines.
A random selection of 28 HPS professionals (13 nurses, 10 specialist pharmacists and 5 resident pharmacists) was made. Each participant, in isolation and individually, made a selection of criteria to be contained in the patient information regarding the transport and storage of TM.
The results obtained were:
General information:
o Informing that it is a TM: 89.28%.
o Telephone number for incidents: 10.71%.
o Keep out of the reach of children: 3.57%.
o Return if discontinuation of treatment: 3.57%.
Storage:
o Specify location in refrigerator: door/indoor distinction 28.57%; Avoid contact with walls: 28.57%; specific place in refrigerator 3.57%.
o Do not store next to food: 17.85%.
o Refrigerator/freezer distinction: 10.71%.
Transport:
o Recommendations for correct transport: 50%.
o Time elapsed from dispensing to refrigerator storage: 39.29%.
Administration:
o Tempering prior to administration (when necessary): 39.28%.
o Visual inspection: 7.14%.
o Check expiry date: 7.14%.
o Frecuency of administration: 3.57%.
Completion, standardisation and systematisation of the provision of information to patients on TM.
Training sessions will be given to all HPS professionals involved, including new recruits and pharmacy assistants. This is an initiative applicable to all HPS.
Clinical Pharmacy Services
Susana Redondo-Capafons, Laura Soriano, Irene López-Rico, Jorge Del Estal, Rocío Cebrián, Marcela Manriquez, Maria Reventós, Sandra Fernández-Molina, Mònica Gómez-Valent
Before CTSS was performed, TSS were requested to Pharmacy Department for evaluation and decision. Because of complexity of these treatments, it was decided that it was necessary to evaluate them with other professionals to make a consensual decision.
In May 2019, CTSS was born. It is a multidisciplinary committee with 10 different health professionals: head of pharmacy, head of healthcare management, head of strategy and operations management, a clinical pharmacologist, five pharmacists and a secretary. Requesting doctors and heads of involved services are invited to explain TSS in the meeting.
Committee (C) of Treatments in Special Situations (TSS) (CTSS) have been established. Requests are received by a specific email for the committee and a standard template was performed to be completed by requesting doctor (patient clinical information and evidence supporting request) and by Pharmacy Service (regulatory status of the drug, pharmacology and cost of treatment).
Some limitations as lack of human resources with exclusive dedication for making reports and lack of training in evaluation of this kind of treatments are the most important obstacles. Currently, each member is self-taught and under excessive work- pressure.
From May 2019 to August 2021, 273 treatments in 59 meetings sessions (average 4.63 evaluations/meeting) were evaluated.
The 91,6% of treatments were approved. In 95,9% of requests, one drug was evaluated.
There were 18 services involved, being oncology and hematology the most active departments.
Evaluated TSS were classified in six categories: 66,7% of requests were drugs without approved indication, 19,8% drugs approved indication pending price by government, 2,5% approved indication but denied funding by government, 1,8% foreign medicines, 4% compassionate use and 5.2% others according to criteria of each autonomous communities in Spain.
CTSS allows make a consensual decision between different professionals and establishes a flow to manage TSS requests. This multidisciplinary scenario generates knowledge and evidence in the use of these kind drugs reducing uncertainty in TSS use in relation to its efficacy and safety and, in cases of high budgetary impact-drugs, to minimize inequities of access by standardizing decision-making. Applicable to all hospitals.
Clinical Pharmacy Services
Cristina González Pérez, Laura Llorente Sanz, Ángel Liras Medina, Ana Andrea García Sacristán, María Molinero Muñoz, Lidia Ybañez García, José Alberto Peña Pedrosa, Henar González Luengo, María Luaces Méndez, José Manuel Martínez Sesmero
Telepharmacy implementation in the context of SARS-CoV-2 pandemic conducted us through the management of a high volume of complex, real-time both clinical and economic data. A multidisciplinary working group (biomedical engineers from the Innovation Unit, clinicians, managers and hospital pharmacists) developed a software tool in April-May 2021.
The design of an agile, customizable and dynamic dashboard for the visualization and analysis of Telepharmacy key performance indicators (KPI) through Business Intelligence (BI).
Phases:
1. Situation analysis. KPI definition. Ethics committee approval submission.
2. Extraction and processing of raw databases (Telepharmacy database, outpatient dispensing program, hospital admission database, drug catalog) through data mining.
3. Co-creation of the comprehensive dashboard in PowerBI®, by integrating database sources. Different panels have been designed where filters such as age, time frame, medical service, pathology, etc. can be applied.
• Description of general variables: patients, demography, shipments, time frame, medical department.
• Geolocation of the destinations of the patients’ home delivery.
• Pharmacological profile: top 10 drugs, distribution by active ingredient and drug classification group.
• Relative analysis of the beneficiary patients of Telepharmacy vs global outpatients
4. Pilot project by different types of users (administrative staff, clinicians and managers)
5. Structure design for automatic updating of the panels from the successive updates of the source databases
The quality of the raw databases can be a limitation. It has been necessary to define how to handle missing and duplicate data. Pre-processing, normalization and transformation data processes have been applied too.
Working within the hospital network ensures that there are no security gaps in terms of patient data protection.
For the external use of the dashboard, the granularity of the data is modulated to ensure enough clustering to avoid the identification of individual patients.
Processing the huge dataset (more than 2.4 million records) was possible by BI tools that synthesizes data, provides dynamic and engaging visualization (charts and graphs), allows the interactive reports customization for more effective communication of results and apply analysis based on Artificial Intelligence.
Applying new technologies will help us improve strategic decisions: interactions, behaviors and trends perceiving, weak points identifying, uncertainty reducing and over time monitoring.
Clinical Pharmacy Services
ANA CASTRO BALADO, MARÍA TERESA RODRÍGUEZ JATO, IRIA VARELA REY, MANUEL BUSTO IGLESIAS, FRANCISCO CAJADE PASCUAL, MARIA PUENTE IGLESIAS, IRENE ZARRA FERRO
The prevalence of obesity has increased considerably in last decades. Pathophysiological changes in obese patients (body mass index >30kg/m2) produce pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic alterations that can condition the correct exposure to drugs if standard dosages are used. Incorrect dosing in obese patients can lead to toxicity or therapeutic failure. Usually, it is difficult to find information on drug dosing in this population, being sometimes contradictory.
To develop an antimicrobial dosage infographic guide for obese patients to facilitate the correct prescription and validation in our hospital.
Initially, the pharmacy service established the antimicrobial groups to be included in the infographic guide, and within each of them, the most used in hospitalized patients were identified. A bibliographic search was carried out using the keywords “obese”, “dosing”, “antimicrobial” and “patient”. Technical data sheets, PubMed, Google Scholar, UpToDate, Micromedex and other hospital guidelines were consulted. A peer review was carried out and a table with antimicrobial groups and subgroups was designed, stablishing the body weight recommended for the adjustment if needed (total weight (TBW), ideal weight (IBW) and adjusted weight (ABW)), doses, and observations (monitoring of plasma levels, administration in extended/continuous infusion and/or special considerations). The table consisted of a total of 38 antibiotics, 10 antifungals, 6 antivirals and 4 antituberculous drugs. Of the total antimicrobials reviewed, 40% were dosed in obese patients by maximum dose, 38% were dosed based on weight (21% by ABW, 10% by IBW, and 7% by TBW) and 22% by standard doses. Equations for body weight descriptors were added in the infographic.
The protocol was validated by the hospital’s infectious diseases commission. Dosing information was then entered into the hospital’s electronic prescribing program facilitating the correct antimicrobial prescription and validation in obese patients. Training was provided in the intensive care unit, and the final document was disseminated through the hospital intranet and via email to all prescribing physicians in the center, being well embraced.
We will continue making formative sessions, as well as possible updates that may be beneficial for a better antimicrobial dosing in obese patients to avoid toxicities and/or therapeutic failure.
Patient Safety and Quality Assurance
MOHAMMED ADNANE EL WARTITI, WAFAA ENNEFFAH, BOUCHRA MEDDAH, MUSTAPHA BOUATIA
The GPG was developed in a concern of practices standardization to guarantee the safety and efficacy of parenteral antibiotics, especially those stored in vials which reuse in possible only if conditions of administration and stability are respected.
We developed a Good Practice Guide (GPG) for the usage of major available parenteral antibiotics.
After we listed all parenteral antibiotics available at the hospital pharmacy, we selected the most used ones and we synthesized all manufacturers’ data to establish a GPG for their administration. We also used literature data to complete missing information in “Summaries of Product Characteristics” related to pediatric use of these drugs. Finally we determined the most antibiotics consuming units according to their defined daily doses, where GPG recommendations will be implemented, before their extension to all other units.
The GPG concerned the most used antibiotics, which mainly belong to the following classes: Beta-lactam, Glycopeptide and Imidazole antibiotics, Aminoglycosides and Quinolones. It specifies the galenical presentation, used solvents, volume and duration of administration, stability after reconstitution as well as incompatibilities and special measures relating to the use of these drugs. The most antibiotics consuming units are pediatric intensive care units, “IIB” pediatric unit and pediatric surgical emergency department.
The approach used in this work can be adopted in other similar structures in order to establish GPGs within the framework of a quality control policy aiming to raise the standard of care.
Patient Safety and Quality Assurance
Jon Michaeli, Bryan Li
The novel delivery method provides an on-demand option for senior citizens at higher risk of serious Covid-19 infections to receive health essentials while maintaining social distancing. The program launched before Covid-19 vaccines were publicly available, and was sustained during a period of especially intense Covid-19 spread in the US from Nov 2020 – Jan 2021.
In early May 2020, Matternet, CVS, and UPS launched direct-to-consumer drone delivery of prescription medicines and other health goods to The Villages, the United States’s largest retirement community with more than 135,000 residents. The operations have expanded in scope since and are ongoing
The drone flights were conducted by Matternet’s M2V9 UAV platform and drew upon the companies’ experience operating other US healthcare drone networks. Deliveries are dispatched from CVS store 8381 and flown to New Covenant United Methodist Church, with final delivery to front porches via golf cart. This is an important milestone on the journey to drone delivery to individual homes at scale.
Matternet and UPS have completed 2,500+ deliveries to date. The partnership has expanded operations to Elan Buena Vista, another retirement community nearby. The program’s success helped pave the way for other healthcare drone programs, including a new route at Wake Forest Baptist where Matternet and UPS are transporting Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccines (first ever in the US).
Full automation achieved via Matternet’s proprietary drone port, the “Station,” will permit pharmaceutical drone delivery at scale and accelerate the roll-out of city-wide networks that give pharmacists more flexibility around where and how patients receive medicines. These networks will support and accelerate the shift to tele-health and “hospital at home” as well as just-in-time inventory management, with significant potential to reduce medical waste through stock centralization. First commercial deployment of the Station occurred in Lugano, Switzerland in September 2021. The same month, Matternet announced a partnership with the Abu Dhabi Department of Health and the UAE’s General Civil Aviation Authority to launch a city-wide medical network serving 40+ locations by 2023. Similar systems are planned for Europe, in cities such as Zurich, Berlin and Athens.
Selection, Procurement and Distribution
Mª Ángeles Parro Martín, Beatriz Montero Llorente, Teresa Gramage Caro, Manuel Vélez Díaz-Pallarés, Miguel Ángel Rodríguez Sagrado, Hilario Martínez Barros, Ana María Álvarez Díaz
To ensure continuity of treatment and pharmacotherapeutic follow-up in patients vulnerable to SARS-CoV-2 infection included in a home delivery and telepharmacy program.
Implementation and adaptation of home delivery and telepharmacy during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic.
A work procedure was designed to detail the new functions to be performed by administrative assistants (AA), pharmacy technicians (PT) and pharmacists (PH). A first procedure was designed, which was adapted and improved after 6 months of experience, giving rise to procedure 2.
Procedure 1
– AA phone call to patients scheduled to obtain consent for home delivery and confirm delivery data.
– The PH grouped patients who had confirmed home delivery in the appointment manager.
– The PH reviewed the electronic prescription of all patients and performed telepharmacy to those who were due and/or had incidents.
– The PT prepared the packages.
Procedure 2
Phase 1
– The AA called all patients scheduled until the end of the year to offer them the option of remaining in the home delivery and telepharmacy program permanently. If they accepted, their consent and delivery data were recorded. From this point on, the call to offer home delivery and telepharmacy was discontinued; it was only offered to patients when they attended in person.
– A specific diary for home delivery patients was created.
– The telepharmacytelepharmacy was added to the PH diary.
Phase 2
– Trained PT in home delivery incident resolution (address changes, absent patients, package rejection) to reduce FAR’s working hours.
Phase 3
– Development of a computer application: computerization of manual processes (labels, identification of refrigerated shipments, SMS delivery confirmation sent to patients, and request for appointment changes).
31,066 home delivery have been performed on 7,170 different patients. 7,443 telepharmacy consultations have been performed.
PT training and computer development has reduced the PH dedication from 7 hours to 3 hours.
Establish criteria for prioritization of patients who are candidates for home delivery and telepharmacy.
Implementation of video call instead of telepharmacy
Patient Safety and Quality Assurance
Ghalib Abbasi
As we venture into the 2020s, health-system pharmacies need to consider these novel approaches to deliver pharmaceutical care to their patients given the changing population needs, lifestyles, and available home technologies accessible to most patients. The ultimate goals are to enhance patient safety, increase hospital pharmacy operational efficiency, and maximize revenue.
Novel technologies were implemented at Houston Methodist to enhance patient safety and experience. These include voice-activated devices in patient rooms, smart glasses for pharmacists, smart phones for hospital pharmacy service provision, artificial intelligence, and tele-health
Careful infrastructure considerations/build took place along with pharmacist-driven algorithm write-up. During this GPI, we’d like to discuss specific steps to make this happen along with sensible benefits we realized from implementing each technology.
Our hospital pharmacists got significantly more involved in direct patient care where notable efficiencies were realized on the operational side. In addition, medication education was significantly enhanced with improved patient access to their in-house hospital pharmacist.
Next steps include deploying these these technologies to further service lines and patient care areas, as well as investing into further meaningful technologies. We’ll review what’s in the pipeline as well.
Introductory Statements and Governance
ARDIZONE BEATRIZ, MARTA HERNÁNDEZ SEGURADO, MARÍA FORTE PÉREZ-MINAYO, LAURA GARCÍA JIMÉNEZ, ELENA TORTAJADA ESTEBAN, ANA CORDERO GUIJARRO, NATALIA BARRERAS RUIZ, LAURA JIMÉNEZ NAVARRO, JAVIER BÉCARES MARTÍNEZ
First, we had a high number of patient inquiries by phone and by email. Furthermore, patient queries related with their treatment and their resolution were not recorded in the electronic clinical history. Finally, we needed a communication platform that would guarantee personal data privacy.
In collaboration with the IT department, we developed a software tool called “Web Dialogue” within the e-health portal of our institution. This tool allows the patients to communicate with the pharmacist using a chat box where they can write queries about drug interactions, adverse effects and any questions about the hospital dispensing treatments, as well as other medications and herbal products. A pharmacist answers the queries within 24 hours, from Monday to Friday.
We asked the IT department to activate this tool for all active patients to whom we dispensed medication in our service (a total of 8000 patients). The development lasted 2 years (2017-2019), but it was not until March 2020, with the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, that the “Web Dialogue” began to be used by our patients more widely. We also made an informative video that was posted on the e-health portal in order to achieve a wider knowledge of this tool among patients. See link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Z9pd93sNY8
The median number of messages per month in 2020-2021 was 202 (IQR= 100,5; 468). At the beginning of the state of alarm in Spain there was a peak in the use of the “Web Dialogue”, mainly to query about how to access the medication (94% of the queries). Over the following months, the proportion of these consultations decreased and consultations regarding doubts about treatment, adverse effects and drug interactions increased. Furthermore, the Net Promoter Score (NPS), an indicator that allows us to measure the satisfaction of patients, shows that in the last year we have achieved, for the first time, a score over 60, which is considered excellent.
Some of our ideas for the future are: the possibility of selecting the type of inquiry and the interlocutor by the patient, creating algorithms for the automatic response of certain questions and carrying out Big Data research studies.
