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.
Education and Research
Agnese Bosio, Chiara Carcieri, Sixberth Bugeraha, Silvia Scalpello, Giovanna Fazzina, Maria Carmen Azzolina, Gianluca Miglio, Annalisa Gasco
Drug dispensing and patient monitoring are institutional activities of hospital pharmacists worldwide. Nevertheless, the enhancement of managerial capabilities, hard and soft skills is crucial to tackle the critical challenge arising from geographical, epidemiological, demographic, cultural and legislative differences between different countries.
An initiative for cooperation and interaction between hospital pharmacists from different income countries has been developed.
The initiative was led by a pharmacist from an Italian hospital who was hosted by a hospital in southern Tanzania and spent a month collaborating with local hospital pharmacists, in order to streamline integrated workflows and optimise clinical care outcomes and professional training.
A Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities Threats (SWOT) matrix was developed to assess the impact on three main areas: drug management, clinical pharmacy and pharmaceutical care.
Strengths: attitude for workflow standardisation, multidisciplinary and multicultural teamwork, sharing of expertise and best practice, speed up of limiting processes in order to develop activities in support of patients and clinicians, time and effectiveness in qualified staff training.
Weaknesses: complexity of procedures for drug import, hospital staff shortage (both pharmacists and physicians), absence of primary care and hospital-territory continuity of care network, clinical severity of patients admitted to hospital, imbalance between clinical pharmacy/pharmaceutical care in favour of drug management.
Opportunities: professional growth due to new healthcare challenges facing, soft skills improvement (problem solving, versatility, working under stress, teamwork, integration, overcoming prejudices), hard skills enhancement (logistics, international legislation, scientific English), budget optimisation for new investments (equipment/staff), improvement of patient safety and overall level of care.
Threats: language/cultural barriers, variable learning curve and resistance to change, barriers in social/professional relationships, individual variability in adaptation period, different patient perceptions of health and medical care.
Professional integration of hospital pharmacists from different educational and cultural backgrounds could enhance their ability to address different clinical, environmental and socio-economic issues, with the following outcomes: strengthening the professional pathway; optimising outcomes with consequent cost savings; improving the quality of healthcare for patients.
Patient Safety and Quality Assurance
AMINE BAYEN, OUMAIMA KHARKHACH, HICHAM EL HORR, LHOUSSAIN ZARAYBY, SANAE DERFOUFI
It has been observed that within the gastroenterology, neurology, internal medicine, rheumatology, and dermatology departments, there exist inconsistencies and disparities. These include extended transportation times averaging 8 minutes, a lack of isothermal bags for transportation, and refrigerators not connected to the main hospital generator.
Strict adherence to storage guidelines is crucial, as any breach in the cold chain could compromise the drug’s therapeutic effectiveness, increase the risk of adverse effects, and lead to significant financial losses for healthcare institutions.
Ensuring optimal storage and transportation conditions for biotherapy drugs in various medical departments within a university hospital by assessing and improving cold chain compliance.
Implemented corrective actions and recommendations have been primarily directed towards minimizing transportation duration and procuring thermal bags for all departments handling biotherapy products. These initiatives encompass enhancing staff awareness in the cold chain process through sensitization campaigns and regularly evaluating refrigerator temperatures. Moreover, a strategic plan is underway to establish their connectivity to the generator system in the near term.
A notable reduction in the transportation time of biotherapeutic drugs has been achieved, decreasing the average duration from 8 minutes to 6 minutes. Additionally, the widespread adoption of thermal bags across audited departments has substantially bolstered the stability of biotherapeutic drugs, mitigating temperature fluctuations and enhancing patient safety. Moreover, our efforts in sensitising medical and pharmaceutical staff within these departments have yielded a significant increase in awareness and adherence to stringent cold chain protocols.
The inconsistencies and disparities identified during the assessment of the biotherapy drug cold chain within our hospital suggest a potential lack of adherence to procedural standards. This situation poses a considerable risk to patient safety, warranting further investigation and action.
Our focus will extend beyond the cold chain assessment to evaluate other pharmaceutical procedures. Specifically, we will investigate the adherence to autoclave sterility cycles for medical devices and the robustness of the preparation process for oncology medicines.
Clinical Pharmacy Services
Sara Rodrigues, Sofia Pinheiro, Vandewalle Björn, Paulo Martins, Sofia Ferreira, Paulo Pereria, Jorge Félix
Shared decision-making between pharmacists and physicians is key to PTC functioning and efficiency. Responsibilities include managing policies and procedures for appropriate use of high quality and cost-effective health technologies at hospitals. PTC performance is paramount to overall hospital efficiency.
This project seeks to assess and redesign (optimize) existing Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committees (PTC) procedures within a University Hospital Centre (UHC – six public hospitals). The goal is to enable sound decision-making that significantly contributes to UHC key performance indicators, all while ensuring timely patient access to effective medication.
The project comprises four phases: (1) gathering feedback from stakeholders (PTC members; hospital service/pharmaceutical department directors) regarding their current involvement in PTC information flows, procedures, and decision-making; (2) developing a value-based criteria-matrix, across stakeholders, in a multiple-criteria decision analysis context, to guide future PTC decision-making; (3) rethinking PTC procedures and information flows; (4) assessing the effectiveness of the redesigned PTC model after 12 months. First phase included: a Likert-scale based survey1 for PTC members to evaluate their involvement in activities described in the internal PTC regulation, and a semi-structured interview-based survey2 for all stakeholders to characterize existing information flows and PTC mediated decision-making processes.
First phase: eight of 10 PTC members participated in survey1. Activities with 100% engagement of PTC members: prescription reviews; coordination with National PTC; monitoring of medicine utilization, antibiotics resistance and safety; advise the UHC management board. Activities with major non-engagement: monitoring/reporting of complementary diagnostics prescription (87.5%); medication therapy management programs (62.5%); National pharmacovigilance system activities (62.5%); therapy cost assessment (50%). In survey2 (n=14) authorization process for medicines utilization was accurately characterized, clearly identifying responsibilities for all clinical and pharmaceutical departments. Heterogeneity exists between urgent and non-urgent utilization requests. PTC members and pharmacy departments were more likely to use electronic platforms than clinical departments.
Next phases are under way to better support current competencies, information flows, procedures, and the shared decision-making processes offering an opportunity to rethink the PTC procedures in the University Hospital Centre and leverage efficiency over hospital complexity.
Patient Safety and Quality Assurance
Mélanie Hinterlang, Mona Assefi, Pauline Glasman, Delphine Brugier, Meriem Charfi, Fanny Charbonnier-Beaupel, Marie Antignac, Carole Metz
Clinical trials in critical care sometimes demand swift inclusion and administration, often occurring at any hour of the day or night. To enhance patient care, the experimental drug may be provided in a non-nominative manner directly from the pharmacy unit to the care unit for storage before any inclusion as a stock. This dispensing pathway is considered less secure than the conventional named dispensing but can be necessary. The objective of this risk analysis for this dispensing process was to identify the risks, determine the number of them with unacceptable criticality, and propose actions to reduce criticality of these risks.
A risk analysis of non nominative dispensation of experimental drugs process was conducted to streamline, secure, optimize, and standardize this dispensing process.
Following a preliminary investigation, three pilot services were chosen: surgical intensive care, post-interventional recovery room (SSPI), and cardiology. The Failure Mode, Effects, and Criticality Analysis (FMECA) method was applied to the non-nominal dispensing circuit of experimental drugs from reception at the pharmacy unit to the administration of the drug to patient. Investigators, clinical research associates, nurse, and pharmacists participated.
Following the FMECA, 281 risks were identified. The majority were either acceptable (123 or 44%, 110 or 39%, 147 or 52%) or tolerable (139 or 49%, 148 or 53%, and 130 or 46%) for the intensive care, SSPI, and cardiology services, respectively. Unacceptable risks numbered 19 (7%), 23 (8%), and 4 (1%) for intensive care, SSPI, and cardiology services, respectively. The process identified as most critical for all three services was communication. After risk prioritization, a plan comprising 17 actions was implemented.
This risk analysis demonstrated that control over the non-nominal dispensing circuit is achievable. Once the actions are in place, a reduction in criticality is anticipated due to a decrease in the frequency. Theoretically unacceptable risks are now at 0%. In the long term, this project has the potential to participate to improve the care of patients enrolled in emergency clinical trials and boost research in the concerned units.
Patient Safety and Quality Assurance
Carine Schuurmans
• The use of gloves in medication administration can vary depending on several factors, including the specific healthcare hygienic policies, local guidelines, and the type of medication being administered. There is no uniform practice across all of Europe.
• According to the Dutch guideline on administration of parenteral medication disposable gloves are traditionally used during parenteral medication administration.
• Most parenteral medications do not pose a significant hazardous risk and the administration of ready to use preparations does not pose a significant infection risk.
• Re-evaluation of the Dutch guideline on administration of parenteral medication from a sustainability point of view.
• Reducing unnecessary glove usage in medication administration.
• Re-evaluating the need for disposable gloves from both an infection prevention and medication hazard point of view.
• Discussion with experts and users.
• Implementation of findings both in the inpatient and outpatient departments.
• Overall growing attention to correct glove usage.
• Reduction of use of disposable gloves during parenteral medication administration and other medical procedures
• CO2-, land occupation and water reduction by respectively 6000 CO2 eq, 600m2, 300m3 and 3500 €/month
• Revision of the Dutch guidelines on administration of parenteral medication
Production and Compounding
Annemarie Aart van der – Beek van der, Mattijs Maris, Erwin Koetse, Alex Hol, Meilof Feiken
Hospital Pharmacies and especially the laboratories produce wastewater containing medicine residue. When this wastewater is discharged into sewage it contributes to the load of pharmaceutical residue and ultimately to pollution of surface-, ground and drinking water. To reduce this load, waste can be collected and transported to a processing facility for incineration and deactivation or alternatively treated locally. Our goal was to develop a practically applicable method that could effectively reduce the pharmaceutical sewage load locally, at the source.
We developed a practical, compact, disposable filtration system that can be used on-site to reduce the amount of pharmaceutical residue in wastewater of our pharmaceutical laboratory. We tested and optimized the composition of the filter to effectively collect organic substances from locally produced wastewater (influent). We monitored filter performance and durability by analysis of filtrates (effluent).
Laboratory wastewater was collected during one month to yield 10 L influent. Portions of influent were filtered through 9 different types of filter packing and the effluents collected for analysis.
The influent reference and effluent samples were analysed using an iontrap LC/MS screening method using diazepam-D5 as an internal standard. The signal abundance 12 most relevant substances was chosen to evaluate the level of reduction by filtration. Based on these analyses, the optimal filter packing was determined.
In the effluent of the best performing filter packing, the abundance of 9 substances was reduced by 91,5-99,9%. The abundance for the other 3 substances was below detection limit.
Substances removed more >99%: atorvastatine, carbamazepine, clarithromycine, diclofenac, granisetron, midazolam, naproxen, propranolol and rocuronium. Substances removed between 91-99%: cefazolin, ephedrine and ropivacaine.
The optimal filter composition will be tested in practice in a test setup. In addition, cost effectiveness and sustainability compared to alternative waste collection methods will be evaluated.
Clinical Pharmacy Services
This service emerged as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, when the collection of hospital medication posed patients, many of whom were immunocompromised, at higher risk for COVID-19 and other infections, as they had to enter the hospital facilities. Over time, it was observed that this service was not only beneficial during periods of high SARS-CoV-2 transmission. RutiCar enabled medication pickup from the patient’s own private vehicle, avoiding necessity for parking as well as entering the hospital.
In June 2021, the Pharmacy Department of Germans Trias i Pujol University Hospital(HUGTP) established an outpatient medication dispensing point located outside the hospital premises, “RutiCar”. This initiative facilitated patients in collecting their chronic treatments without entering the hospital, enabling direct access from their vehicles.
A new preparation and dispensing circuit was established. The patients specify their preferred date for medication pickup by telephone, e-mail or by a form after scanning a QR code. Pharmacy technicians undertake the responsibility of scheduling the appointment and preparing the medications one day prior to the designated dispensing day. The prepared medications are transported early in the morning to a temporary medication storage facility situated within the hospital’s parking area. Finally, the patient arrives at RutiCar at their scheduled appointment time and, without the need to exit their vehicle, collects their medication.
This service is aimed at patients with chronic treatments who have been on their medication for an extended period (>6 months) and show adherence. Pharmacists play an important role in this context, by ensuring that patients meet the criteria to initiate RutiCar service, reviewing treatments to validate their continuation and overseeing medication pickups to enhance patient adherence.
This service has led to an improvement in the medication dispensing process, assisting 10.46%(282) of the monthly average of patients who collect hospital medication(2695) and extending the hours for medication pickup, facilitating the work-life balance for patients and enhancing access to patients from remote areas.
In the future, improvements can be considered, such as implementing reminders for patients who have not yet scheduled their appointments and are projected to run out of medication soon, or automated appointment systems.
Patient Safety and Quality Assurance
In intensive care patients, numerous drugs are continuously administered. Standardised concentrations and dose adjustment by infusion rate are recommended to minimise medication errors, e.g., by the EAHP Special Interest Group for investigating Medication Errors in Intensive Care Units. This principle is also followed more and more in German hospitals. However, there is a lack of a national standardised concentration list.
The joint working group aimed to develop and implement a nationwide standardised concentration list for continuously administered infusions in intensive care patients in German hospitals.
A joint working group of the German Society of Hospital Pharmacists (ADKA e.V.) and the German Interdisciplinary Association of Intensive and Emergency Care (DIVI e. V.) compiled a nationwide continuous infusion standard for intensive care patients. Based on a national survey conducted in 2021, a list of plausible, commonly used drugs and concentrations was compiled. Drugs and concentrations to be listed were further evaluated in a multi-stage process based on predefined criteria (e.g. volume sparing concentration, one concentration per drug [where applicable], preferring ready-to-use medication, operational considerations).
A joint working group of the German Society of Hospital Pharmacists (ADKA e.V.) and the German Interdisciplinary Association of Intensive and Emergency Care (DIVI e. V.) compiled a nationwide continuous infusion standard for intensive care patients. The national continuous infusion standard encompasses 41 drugs and 49 standard concentrations, recommended vehicle solutions and data on the physicochemical stability of the infusions during administration. Thirty-seven active substances are listed with one concentration, heparin with two concentrations, epinephrine and sufentanil with three concentrations, and norepinephrine with four.
Healthcare professionals in German intensive care units are encouraged to adopt this standardised concentration list to improve medication safety. Flowcharts provided by the working group will facilitate the implementation of the defined standard concentrations.
Patient Safety and Quality Assurance
Manuel Mazarío-García, Amparo Molina Lázaro, Gemma Garrido Alejos, Ferran Sala-Piñol, Núria Juvanet Ribot, Lluís de Haro i Martin
In 2011, the Catalan Health Service (CatSalut) introduced the Registry of Patients and Treatments of Outpatient Hospital Medicines (RPT-OHM) within their Standard Health Record Platform (SHRP) for the comprehensive evaluation, effectiveness and safety of OHM. CatSalut requires fulfilling RPT-OHM before medicines billing. However, SHRP lacked integration with ICS’ clinical and billing information systems.
The Catalan Health Institute (ICS) is the largest healthcare provider in Catalonia and is made up of eight hospitals. The ICS developed and implemented a structured data collection tool named the Hospital-Information-System-integrated Registry of Patients and Treatments (RPT-HIS). This tool systematically collects a range of critical information, spanning from prescription inception to treatment cessation, such as:
• Administrative patient, prescriber, and treatment particulars.
• Active ingredients or combinations, initiation and termination dates, therapeutic indications, and ICD-10 diagnoses.
• Baseline clinical variables recorded upon treatment commencement.
• Dynamic clinical data captured or typed from medical records throughout follow-up according to predefined intervals.
• Cessation variables detailing reasons for treatment discontinuation.
At ICS’ headquarters, a dedicated team of internal business analysts and functional support officers, along with contracted developers, collaborated to design, implement, and maintain RPT-HIS. Monthly coordination meetings ensure efficient integration of new OHM and monitor the registry’s progress. Simultaneously, a network of local reference pharmacists emerged in all eight ICS hospitals, fostering continuous knowledge exchange and driving innovative enhancements.
In the first half of 2023, 52,907 initiation, follow-up, or discontinuation forms were completed. Among these, 93.7% met all preset treatment-specific validation rules, underscoring the initiative’s effectiveness. Subsequently, utilization and budgetary impact reports across ICS hospitals have been elaborated, covering general and special patient populations, indicating a positive impact on operational efficiency and patient care.
In the near future, the real-world data amassed and stored in RPT-HIS could help to underpin refined drug therapy, optimize health outcomes, and strategically position medicines for specific conditions, also aiding in selection and purchase. This initiative serves as a model of good practice, demonstrating the potential of integrated data collection systems, aligned with the routine process of OHM utilization, to improve patient care. The successful implementation of RPT-HIS suggests its viability for adoption in other healthcare settings.
Education and Research
Stine Hygum Sørensen, Henrik Nielsen, Ulla Kloster, Anne Grethe Nørgaard Kyndi, Maja Vad Mortensen, Dorthe Ludvigsen
The concept of medicine at Gødstrup Hospital is based on Patient involvement in the medicine process. Consequently, the patients bring their own medicine, which is stored in the patient’s room, and additional medicine is supplied in original packages. Medicine dispensing is performed in the patient’s room to allow patient participation. The medicine rooms at the hospital are quite small, because the majority of the medicine is with the patient, but it also makes medicine rooms unsuited for on-site training of new nurses.
Virtual Reality (VR) technology was applied for introduction of newly hired nurses to medicine rooms at the hospital.
Newly hired nurses are given a four hour introduction to the concept of medicine at Gødstrup Hospital, Denmark. The introduction is given by an interdisciplinary team of a clinical pharmacist, a pharmacologist and an experienced nurse. The introduction is given in collaboration with the Centre for Research and Education (NIDO) once a month. This ensures that newly hired nurses are given the same, relevant introduction when needed.
Introduction to medicine rooms is part of the training for nurses in introductory positons. Using VR newly hired nurses are given a different and exciting introduction to medicine rooms.
In collaboration with the simulation unit at NIDO we made a VR-video to enable up to 20 new nurses to see the same introduction at the same time. Hospital Pharmacy staff is featured in the VR recording and guides viewers to specific parts of the medicine room, explaining important topics such as waste disposal, hygiene and anatomical therapeutic chemical (ATC) groups.
The participants are positive and give the following feedback to the VR segment of the introduction: “It was significantly easier to deal with as a newbie”. “It was very visual as being there in reality”. “There was time to learn in a calm environment”, “It worked fine as a lesson” and “It is a good change from backboard teaching.”
The monthly introductions continues and further collaboration with NIDO will result in lessons with topics such as pharmaceutical formulations and drug calculations. Perhaps VR will be included in this too.
