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.
Selection, Procurement and Distribution
ERMINIA CACCESE
The aim is to hold a value-based tender by incorporating the clinical benefit into the competition score for the procurement of Hyaluronic Acid (AI) for intra-articular use.
The main purpose of this tender is to purchase the product with the best cost-effectiveness profile according to the Net Monetary Benefit (NMB) and putting drugs and medical devices in competition.
In Italy as well as in Europe medical devices (MDs) procurement is based on construction features and on price. The price of MDs is not negotiated by regulatory authorities, but it’s defined by industry. Today, in a limited resources scenario, it is necessary to implement value-based procurement.
We used the NMB method (1) as an award criterion, a parameter that evaluates the cost-effectiveness of the therapeutic intervention.
A bibliographic search was carried out to support the chosen endpoints and the tender lots. The utility and cost values linked to therapeutic failure were sought and the minimum accepted quality was defined. The starting price was calculated per therapy cycle/patient.
Finally, a software was designed to calculate the value-based competition score.
The tender consisting of 3 lots was announced with resolution n.209/2023 (2). The technical evaluation focuses on the enhancement of the clinical benefit based on the following scores: price (30)/clinical benefit (70). The endpoints chosen for the evaluation of clinical benefit are deltaVAS and deltaEQ-5D. Both drugs and MDs can be offered for each therapeutic indication.
This tender is an example of value-based procurement that uses the evaluation of clinical effectiveness as a quality evaluation criterion.
The aim is to quantitatively link the purchase price of a therapeutic intervention to the extent of the benefit observed in clinical studies, rewarding the interventions that produce the greatest benefits. The innovative nature of our tender lies in putting drugs and MDs in competition in the same tender lot and for the same therapeutic indication, thus purchasing the product with the best cost-effectiveness profile based on scientific evidence. We are awaiting the award of the tender, the results of which we will publish shortly.
Selection, Procurement and Distribution
Outi Lapatto-Reiniluoto, Suvi Sivula, Elina Ahomäki
Price has been the most prominent criteria in procurement quality being the second. Environmental aspects haven’t been assessed earlier. Differences between the pharmaceuticals’ environmental burden can be considerable and by choosing wisely we would be more sustainable.
Environmental criteria have not been used in Finland in hospital procurements earlier. We created the criteria which would be acceptable to all parties (hospitals, suppliers), would be reliably assessed, and easily copied to other hospitals.
Our tender had six questions for everyone and two more questions for antibiotics or hormones. The common questions were answered by yes / no / we do not know. Points given were 0, 1, 2. An example of the common question is: Does the company have a plan how to reduce CO2 emissions caused by itself?
Questions for antibiotics and estrogen hormones were: Company has told in which country and in which plant the API is produced and the formulation happens.
132 providers answered so far. Quality of answers varied considerably, from 0 to 12 points, mean 7 points. Questions for antibiotics created the most discrepancies: 41 providers; 15 were not able to answer these questions acceptably. The answers showed that the questions were not too difficult, these questions could be answered, and the answers can be analysed.
The criteria were very simple and assessing the answers was not difficult. Only one question was widely misunderstood. Questions were universal and can be used in other hospitals, too, which is the wish from the industry (same questions everywhere). Wide range of results showed differences between the companies. During this round we did not give any credit for the best products but in the future more responsible products should be rewarded. Antimicrobial resistance e.g., is a global problem but if the company does not know where its products are manufactured how can they look after wastewater treatment of their products.
Selection, Procurement and Distribution
Liselotte Kamper
To ensure optimal price negotiations and tenders based on an up-to-date product overview including both pharmaceutical, therapeutic, and commercial knowledge.
Team Horizon Scanning (HS) in Amgros has developed a comprehensive report covering all important information for a new medicine about to be marketed within the EU – an Extended Product Overview (EPO).
Following every meeting in the Committee for Medicines for Human Use (CHMP) at the European Medicines Agency (EMA), information on applications for marketing authorisation on new medicines is identified in the agenda and minutes. The following information is compiled:
• Name of the active substance
• (Commercial) name of medicine
• EMA procedure number
• Date of application
• Type of application (Orphan/Accelerated review/PRIME)
• Name of the marketing-authorisation applicant
• Therapeutic indication
The information is supplemented with:
• ATC-code
• Mechanism of action
• Incidence/Prevalence
• Potential impact for the patients and the health care system
• Already approved medicines to treat the same disease
The information is presented and discussed at an internal meeting in Amgros between the HS team and representatives from health economics, tendering and negotiations. At the meeting it is decided for which medicines it is relevant to produce an EPO. The EPO contains the above-mentioned information as well as the following information:
• A description of the disease
• A status of the current standard treatment of the disease
• Information from the clinical studies supporting the indication/application
• Other medicines in pipeline for the same indication, with a status on the timeline for applying for marketing authorization
• Analysis of the market into which the medicine will be launched
The final document is confidential.
The EPO-document ensures that Amgros is prepared in the best way in negotiations to agree on a price level that gives a reasonable match between the effect of the medicine and its costs compared with the current standard treatment. Thereby more cost-effective health solutions and possibility to achieve more health for money in the Danish hospital setting can be secured.
The HS team wish to expand the EPOs to also cover specific therapeutic areas of interest e.g., multiple myeloma and other complexed therapeutic indications.
Selection, Procurement and Distribution
Helle Pasgaard Rommelhoff, Lise Grove, Dorthe Bartels, Trine Ann Behnk, Lars Ole Madsen
To share learning from a pilot of procuring pharmaceuticals jointly across borders in three European countries as well as post-learning on planning and execution elements in order to have a successful joint procurement.
Three European countries decided to implement a joint procurement pilot in order to seek solutions for some of the supply issues in the three markets. This was a consequence of being a small volume market with potentially limited attractivity for suppliers of older products. An initial evaluation of synergies and discrepancies among the involved countries supported the understanding of how to jointly procure medicines for the hospital sector.
The visualised model of a product lifecycle was applied to understand where a pilot of joint procurement would support the supply issues of the older products. This led to a shared understanding between the countries on where the supply issues may occur and potential solutions. An evaluation of building the joint procurement process, which took approximately 2 years, is now available as a best practice with “Do’s and Don’ts” for other countries with joint procurement interest. Criteria in the tenders announced were either price alone or in combination with. One of the tenders included a mandatory bid for all 3 markets, the rest of the tenders were mandatory for 2 of the markets with optional submission for the 3rd market. This was an outcome of hearings with suppliers. The feedback from the hearings was modifying the tender materials into a new proposal for suppliers. A political framework was signed between the countries to have a shared fundament to build on.
The final outcome of a joint procurement was evaluated. Evaluation of the submission and preparation part showed that the majority of joint tenders had an efficient competition on price with a representative amount of suppliers bidding. It also shown that it was vital to have collaboration and to listen to stakeholders in order to have a robust insight on what was possible for all involved parties. The thorough preparations supported the process and the final outcome. There was dual engagement between the stakeholders and transparency on the wish from countries to overcome barriers and conduct joint procurement to support supply issues.
Efficient and timely planning is crucial. Collaborations between the involved stakeholders are important. Mutual understanding of the interests and strategy is helpful in building a shared view on the problems and potential solutions. It is seen as essential, when planning joint procurement, to include logistic thinking already in the early tender planning phase.
Selection, Procurement and Distribution
Alison Anastasi, Karl Farrugia
This was done as a tender was being issued also for medicines that still had a patency and had no competition and the prices quoted for were higher than other international external reference prices. Thereby a new pricing reimbursement system was undertaken and items procured were studied intensively before choosing the right procurement model. The main point was thinking outside the box inducing interest in international companies who were willing to support and assist the innovative local systems by participating in the new systems leading to improved access and better value for money.
In September 2016, a workshop and strategy meeting was organised at WHO Denmark to discuss global procurement strategy and share country practices. Malta was one of the facilitators and invited speakers. In the past years tendering was the main system for procurement. However, on having a thorough understanding of medicines and non-pharmaceuticals, market strategy, and patency other processes have been studied and adopted. The models involve negotiations, pay per use systems, and pay per performance models.
This was done by setting multidisciplinary teams within the hospitals and by having good research methodology skills. This led to smoothing the gaps between the actual horizon scanning, health technology assessments and final choice of procurement strategy. International liaison, partnership with the industry, and relevant focus groups with annual seminars made this possible as mixed experts met and gave their best shot at this new system. The fact that no one size fits all made procurement more interesting and from one cycle to the other there is a learned curve that brings successful results.
Malta achieved better competition, uninterrupted sourcing, investments and stable pricing with continuous yearly reductions. From negotiations of patented medicines Malta saved approximately 1.5-2 Million Euro per year since 2013. With respect pay per use systems such as the total knee replacements Malta gave a capped price and ended up paying half of what is used to pay and companies managed to bid for the set price. In renal dialysis the cycle involved payment per patient service thereby reducing wastage, storage, and ordering of consumables and this will render a cost saving of 5Million Euro throughout cycle. The new processes launched for multiple sclerosis will dictate that whoever reaches the cheapest price ranking will be used to start the patients clinically and the pay per cure cycle for Hepatitis C will lead to savings and complete eradication in five years time.
Malta is one of 6 small EU Member States so besides its size and geography there are other elements were it triggers the procurement department to think of innovative ways to treat our patients and as yet remaining sustainable. There are other projects in the pipeline however, Malta is sharing its good practice with the industry, with the WHO and other international fora so that certain elements are taken on board as standardised systems for equality of service and treatment in all countries.
Selection, Procurement and Distribution
