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
Giulia CANCELLIERI, Piera POLIDORI
Hospital pharmacist provides all management of investigational medical product(IMP), i.e. its conservation, distribution, return and destruction. However, each clinical trial involves different methods of managing the drug: this can mislead the pharmacist who has to manage multiple trials at the same time. With the aim of minimizing errors that may arise from the simultaneous management of different clinical trials, we have developed a method to classify clinical protocols by “risk index”.
With the aim of minimizing errors resulting from management of clinical trials in hospital pharmacy, we have developed a method to classify experimental protocols into low-moderate-high risk(risk index). For each of these categories, standard procedures were then outlined in order to minimize the occurrence of any errors.
In order to determine risk index(ρ) we have identified all risks related to IMP’s management: pharmacological risk(φ), dependent on pharmacological characteristics of IMP; technological risk(α), if drug should be compounding; risk related to number of patients enrolled(np); risk inherent to the protocol(π), i.e. whether protocol involves placebo, or randomization, etc. These risks were then related through the formula created by us, ρ=φ+(α*np)+π: protocols are defined low-risk if ρ<50, moderate-risk if 51<ρ151. For each risk index, standard procedures were outlined in order to minimize risks, i.e.(for high-risk) inclusion of at least four pharmacists in “Delegation of Responsibilities Log”; scheduling monthly meetings with trial’s Monitor; dispensing of IMP with supervision by at least two pharmacists; etc.
We applied this method to 45 active trials in our hospital. For 3/45(6,7%) protocols, φ>75 because IMPs are carcinogenic; instead, 26/45(57,8%) protocols, involve IMP’s compounding; finally 29/45(64,4%) protocols are randomized and 14/29(48,3%) of these involve use of placebo. By applying aforementioned formula, we found that 3/45(6,7%) protocols are low-risk, 32/45(71,1%) moderate-risk, 10/45(22,2%) high-risk. For these 10, standard procedures were applied, to improve the safety of patients enrolled in a clinical trial.
We promote use of this method in other clinical centers, because we believe it can be a valid tool for risk minimization. Finally, we hope that we will receive numerous feedback from these centers to further improve the proposed method.
Patient Safety and Quality Assurance
To identify improvement opportunities in the Pharmacy Compounding Area through the analysis of indicators obtained from a traceability App.
In 2022, a mobile application (App) was designed and implemented to facilitate the traceability of preparations compounded in the Pharmacy (parenteral nutrition, chemotherapy and other individualized sterile preparations). In addition, the analysis of data registered in the App has provided valuable information about the compounding unit performance.
Monthly reports from May to December 2022 were analysed, focusing only on chemotherapy preparations. The indicators selected were: the average number of monthly preparations, weekly workload distribution, daytime distribution of compounded preparations, preparations returned to the Pharmacy, percentage of treatments prepared on the same day of administration, and percentage of preparations compounded after the scheduled administration time.
An average of 139 chemotherapy preparations per day was recorded. The daily distribution highlights that Thursdays and Fridays are the busiest days with the 45% of the total weekly preparations. Furthermore, the morning shift carries out most of the compounding work, with 79% of the preparations being compounded before 3 PM. This information might be useful to the management team to better distribute tasks and resources. Data analysis indicates that 62% of the preparations are compounded in advance, while the remaining 38% are prepared on the same day of administration, which is also valuable information to organize the compounding workflow. On average, 59 preparations were returned per month. Finally, we found that 8.1% of the chemotherapy drugs were prepared with a median delay of 47 minutes from the expected time of administration. All these items are currently being monitored as quality indicators in order to find the way to minimize them.
The analysis of data recorded in the App provides us valuable management indicators for organizing work in the preparation area.
Tracking these indicators serves as a quality tool for the area and helps us identify opportunities for improvement.
Clinical Pharmacy Services
Adrian Viudez-Martinez, Ana Ramirez-Lopez, Javier Lopez-Nieto, Geronima Riera, Eduardo Climent-Grana
Medication errors harm at least 1.5 million people every year. According to the Institute for Safe Medication Practice (ISMP), ongoing errors with oral methotrexate (MTX) for non-oncologic use suggest that more needs to be done to reduce the risk of patient harm, especially considering its potentially severe side effects.
Identification and prevention of MTX-related medication errors for non-oncologic use by medication reconciliation at hospital admission. Analysis of errors’ type prevalence were also performed.
Design: prospective cohort performed in a tertiary hospital from September 2021 to April 2023.
Inclusion criteria: Inpatients with weekly methotrexate for non-oncologic use.
Intervention applied: medication reconciliation comparing inpatient’s e-prescription, clinical record, outpatient medication history and pharmacist-driven interview.
Data analysed: demographic data (age, sex, admission cause) treatment-related data (indication, methotrexate and folic acid posology, administration route, day of the week).
Out of 79 admission episodes (53.1 % men, median age: 72 years (range: 18-96 years), 63 (80% )were urgent.
Most patients had been prescribed methotrexate for rheumatoid arthritis (n=56), but also for polyarthritis (n=9), psoriatic arthritis (n=8), pulmonary sarcoidosis (n=2), pemphigus (n=1), spondylarthritis (n=1) and Still syndrome (n=1).
Methotrexate doses’ frequency were: 15 mg (28.9%), 10 mg (27.6%), 20 mg (11.9%), 7.5 mg (9.2%), 25 mg (7.9%), 12.5 mg (6.6%), 17.5 mg (5.3%) and 5 mg (2.6%).
Medication errors were identified and prevented in 38 out of the 77 episodes recorded (49.4%). There were classified as follows: dose (38.5%), day (17.9%), dose and day (17.9%), dose and administration route (10.3%), omission (10.3%), administration route (2.6%) and lack of indication (2.6%).
Folic acid doses’ frequency was: 10 mg the day after MTX (47%), 5 mg the day after MTX (28%), 5 mg daily except the same day as MTX (17%), 15 mg the day after MTX (8%).
Medication errors were identified and prevented in 51 out of the 77 episodes recorded (66.2%). There were classified as follows: omission (38.8%), day (33.3%), day and dose (16.7%), dose (9.3%) and drug (1.9%).
Performing medication reconciliation in every admission, measuring its potential benefits using validated tools for clinical pharmacists’ intervention assessment, such as the CLEO tool, which can, ultimately, serve as preamble to objectively measure the pharmacists’ impact in healthcare efficiency and patients’ safety.
Production and Compounding
Susana Fraga, Cláudia Cunha, Susana Pissarra , Carla Sampaio, Diana Silva, Pedro Soares, Teresa Soares, Renata Barbosa
Human milk banks (HMBs) must use rigorous quality assurance practices to protect infants and milk processing, and post-pasteurization procedures are important in maintaining high-quality breast milk and safeguarding its quality.
The compounding pharmacist has all the knowledge and experience needed to implement processing circuits based on good handling practices and sterile technique, combined with quality assurance procedures to ensure their safety.
Pharmacy implementation of the Donor Human Milk (DHM) processing circuit (by pasteurization) and conditions.
Bibliographical research and critical analysis of the functioning of HMB worldwide, with multidisciplinary meetings to define the best and most secure quality practices.
Equipment choice, in accordance with recommendations and assessment of their technical requirements.
Adaptation of the informatic medical integrated system to the DHM prescription, processing, quality control and dispensing circuit.
Design of the DHM circuit based on good practices for the safe use of products of human origin and on a robust quality assurance plan.
A DHM circuit was put into practice, with pharmacist intervention in DHM processing, quality control, and batch release.
Procedures for aseptic handling, quality control with check points and risk analysis, packaging, and labelling of DHM were outlined.
Work instructions were also established for handling equipment (pasteuriser, bottle sealer, laminar flow chamber) as well as procedures for cleaning facilities and material/equipment, with training sessions for the professionals involved.
The multidisciplinary circuit was adapted to the organisational management of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), HMB, and Pharmaceutical Services, certified on 18 April 2023 according to ISO 9001:2015 recommendations.
Guidelines for the correct use of equipment in accordance with its recommendations and technical requirements were established.
Opening more HMB worldwide is an inevitability. Prevailing know how at the level of hospital pharmacies represent several advantages to these projects, based on experience and expertise in manipulating biological products and maintaining a controlled circuit based on safety and quality standards.
Patient Safety and Quality Assurance
All errors, whether involving medication or not, are required to be reported and classified in the hospital reporting system. However, the system is poorly adapted for medication management and lacks the relevant terms. This results in the same type of error being classified in various ways, making systematic quality improvement difficult. A pilot study confirmed the system’s shortcomings, after which a new medication management process was developed and evaluated.
The existing process for classifying medication errors was supplemented with a new process in which hospital pharmacists reclassified medication errors detected in the reporting system. The reclassification was based on a predefined medication management process.
A medication management process was developed in collaboration with specialist nurses and in accordance with applicable regulations and policies. The process consisted of the following activities: 1) Prescription, 2) Ordering/Delivery, 3) Storage/Narcotics Control, 4) Preparation, 5) Handover/Administration, 6) Medicines information in transitions of care, 7) Follow-up of treatment, and 8) Miscellaneous. The process was validated by having four hospital pharmacists independently classify 176 medication errors. Consistency in the assessment was evaluated, and the process was corrected as needed. All medication errors classified as medication-related in 2022 or containing the word “medication” in free text were thereafter exported from the reporting tool to Microsoft Excel and then into a data processing and performance monitoring tool for further analysis.
A total of 756 medication errors were identified in the reporting tool, distributed across 65 different activities. Hospital pharmacists identified an additional 305 errors through free-text searches that had not been reported as medication-related. A total of 1,061 medication errors (756+305) were reclassified and grouped into eight activities. The highest risk of errors was associated with the preparation (19%), followed by storage/narcotics control (18%), and prescription (17%). The new process, involving hospital pharmacists in classification, creates conditions for a more systematic approach to medication errors. The pilot project was presented at the hospital’s themed day for World Patient Safety Day 2022.
Discussions have been initiated with system developers to improve the reporting tool. Discussions with hospital management will be initiated with the goal of creating a structure in which hospital pharmacists have an active role in the hospital’s work on patient safety related to medication.
Patient Safety and Quality Assurance
Samantha HUYNH, Catarina GONCALVES BARROSO, Sophie PATERNOTTE, Sofia DA SILVA MENDES, Claire JUDEL, Elvire MARTIN-LEMAIRE, Georges NICOLAOS, Chloé DUPONT, Nicolas CORNILLET
Raising awareness and ongoing training of healthcare professionals is a crucial criterion for High Authority for Health certification. Flashpharma provides reliable information, particularly for night-shift nurses. This becomes critical in a context of reduced physician presence and absence of pharmacists, and the increasing presence of temporary nurses due to staffing shortages.
The pharmacy department developed FlashPharma, an innovative training tool to enhance medication management within healthcare units. For instance, it contributes by promoting the proper use of high-risk medications (HRM) and risky medications (RM) by providing information to care teams as close to the patient as possible.
A working group created eleven sheets based on literature and adapted to the practices of adult hospitalization departments. Validated by medical experts and institutional committees, they include points to watch and key figures. They link up with our institutional protocols, our prescribing software and the points addressed by the visiting experts during the mock certification. Accessible by flashing QR codes strategically positioned or on our web platform, they serve as a basis for discussion with caregivers. Trainers included pharmacists, a pharmacy intern, and a hospital quality manager. Anonymous written questionnaires were used to gather feedback.
Two QR codes are placed on automated dispensing cabinets and mobile medical carts, linking to sheets on MHR, RM, and guidelines for proper drug crushing and administration via an enteral feeding tube. Another QR code on refrigerators provides information on drug storage and temperature alerts management. A label provides information on drugs prescribed outside the booklet, with six therapeutic equivalence tables validated by doctors.
Three sessions were attended by nurses, healthcare managers, orderlies, and doctors (n=18). Fifteen (83%) participants strongly agreed, and 3 (17%) agreed that they acquired new knowledge. All participants would recommend these sheets; 16 (89%) strongly expressed their willingness to participate in a second session.
Positive feedback highlighted the need for further education in various hospital units. Feedback on the use of QR codes by day and night teams will be sought during subsequent sessions and quantified using analytical dashboards. Appropriate continuing education initiatives will be implemented in paediatrics, intensive care and operating room departments.
Education and Research
Pascaline Hubot, Anais Lumen , Marion Lefebvre, Audrey Christiaens , Claudia Tavernier , Olivia Dalleur
With the healthcare sector’s climate footprint accounting for 4.4% (2019) of global greenhouse gas emissions, sustainable development in healthcare is one of today’s challenges. It is important and urgent to highlight the simple actions that can be implemented to reduce these emissions and to promote them. The objectives were: (1) To identify eco-friendly practices related to the pharmacist’s work. (2) To design an animated video and (3) To raise awareness among pharmacy staff about sustainable development.
Students in their final year of a complementary master’s degree in hospital pharmacy at the Université Catholique de Louvain (Belgium) decided to take on the challenge of producing an animated video on eco-actions specific to the profession of hospital pharmacist.
Firstly, a literature review (PubMed, Google Scholar) on sustainable development in healthcare followed by a focus group was carried out to identify and select ten eco-actions most relevant to the hospital pharmacist’s job. We provide at least one example for each sector of the pharmacy. Secondly, a brainstorming session was held to select the most appropriate communication tool.
An 8-minute animated video was produced using Powtoon software (January 2023 version). This video is available free of charge on Youtube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5eKQVcVlP00). A poster was created for display in all hospital pharmacies in French-speaking Belgium to inform as many staff members as possible about best practices in sustainable development. A QR code was added to the poster to enable a direct access to the video. The project was presented by webinar for French-speaking Belgian hospital pharmacists in April 2023. This video is now included in the programme of a complementary Master’s degree in hospital pharmacy at the Université Catholique de Louvain.
In the face of climate challenges, raising awareness of sustainable development issues remains the watchword This educational video is a first step in initiating actions to make pharmacy more sustainable. It will be presented at the next annual meeting of French-speaking Belgian hospital pharmacists in 2024 and we hope that pharmacists will implement these concrete eco-friendly practices within their institutions.
Education and Research
Pascaline Hubot , Elise Francq, Guy Stichelbaut
Hospital pharmacy is a constantly evolving field that requires ongoing training. New teaching strategies based on the gamification of educational objectives have been making headlines for several years. These include EG.
An educational escape game (EG) has been designed and implemented for hospital pharmacists and pharmaceutical-technical assistants (Apth) working in one of Chirec’s distribution departments (Belgium). The objectives were : to provide continuing education and to improve various cross-disciplinary skills such as communication, team cohesion and critical thinking.
After considering the various constraints (dedicated time per session, number of players, etc.), a non-linear scenario was constructed. Distribution-specific themes were chosen for the creation of 12 enigmas, some in paper format and others in virtual format using Genially platform (November 2022 version). To ensure that the training sessions ran smoothly, hint envelopes containing the updated procedures were provided. Finally, the EG was pilot tested to get an idea of the game’s timing, to identify and correct any practical problems, and to adapt certain enigmas deemed too complex if necessary.
Nine sessions were held between December 2022 and September 2023. Each session included : briefing (5’), EG session (45’), debriefing (10’) and the distribution of an anonymous satisfaction survey at the end of the session (2’). Pharmacists (n = 24) and Apth (n = 15) respectively agreed (37.5% (n = 9) ; 66.7% (n = 10)) and strongly agreed (54.2 % (n = 13) ; 20% (n = 3)) that the EG improved their knowledge, and all participants found the EG to be a good teaching tool. Feedback was also very positive on cross-functional skills such as communication, team cohesion and critical thinking.
Futures sessions will be planned for newcomers to the pharmacy. Given the popularity of this educational tool and the suggestions for new topics, a new EG theme will certainly be on the agenda for 2024 pharmacy continuing education.
Clinical Pharmacy Services
Moisés Couñago-Fernández, Marisol Samartín-Ucha, Ana María Regueira-Arcay, Sonia González-Costas, María Alfonsín-Lara, Paula Prado-Montes, Iván Agra-Blanco, Elena Cerdeira-Regueira, Noemí Martínez-López de Castro
When a new pharmaceutical product should be introduced in a hospital, a multitude of factors must be considered in order to choose a specific brand. A lack of uniformity in the criteria for the selection of new medicines has been detected. To avoid selection errors or arbitrary decisions, a selection structured algorithm was developed using quality tools according to management quality system ISO 9001-2015.
To ensure that the process of selecting from several pharmaceutical companies fulfil the requirements of quality and lower cost, a decision-making process for these purchases was designed, through a structured method for the evaluation of new pharmaceutical products based on standardised evaluation criteria.
A multidisciplinary group was created focused on making decisions about criteria. All stakeholders were represented (management pharmacist, quality experts, management assistant and pharmacy director). Also, a survey was given to different specialist pharmacists to complete the criteria. Second, criteria were categorised according to their importance or potential impact in pharmacy practice or patient.
The algorithm took into account aspects related to: a)pharmaceutical company and b)aspects related to the pharmaceutical product. Each of these aspects is valued as a percentage.
a)Pharmaceutical company: 40% of the score was based on not having a repeated history of stock-outs, 45% on the evaluation of the provider according to an internal file based on incidences registered, and 15% if the provider was already a known supplier.
b)Pharmaceutical product: 50% was based on the cost of the medicine, 15% unit dose presentation (if applicable), 10% expiry conditions of the medicine, 5% allergens, 5% if it was presented in a pre-filled pen (if applicable), 5% if it could be stored at room temperature, 5% if the drug is supplied in diluted vials (in the case of parenteral medicines) and 5% if it had all the possible indications in the technical data sheet.
This methodology has been used successfully in recent months with the pharmaceutical supplier changes of abiraterone and sugammadex.
This tool will be used for all changes of medicine brands and new drugs purchased in the hospital, enabling uniformity in the purchasing process for all new drugs.
Patient Safety and Quality Assurance
Eva Gomez-Costa, Purificacion Cid-Silva, Juan Luis Hurtado-Bouza, Laura Caeiro-Martinez , Pablo Feijoo-Vilanova, Andrea Luaces-Rodriguez, Sandra Rotea-Salvo, Alejandro Martinez-Pradeda , Maria Isabel Martin-Herranz
The purpose is to identify deficiencies and improvement areas in the outpatient consultation area for evaluation and proposal of possible solutions.
Implementation of an user satisfaction evaluation system for outpatient consultations at the Pharmacy Service of a tertiary-level hospital and initial results assessment.
The system was put into operation in January 2023 through a QR code placed in each consultation room and in the waiting areas accessible to all patients. The survey allows for differentiation between the different pharmacy service centers in the hospital, patient-caregiver patient category, age group, and whether it was the first consultation or an appointment for treatment continuation. Users can rate aspects related to information, waiting time from the appointment time to receiving attention, the professionalism of the staff, respect for privacy, pharmaceutical information about the treatment, and the facilities. This rating can be classified into: very good, good, bad, very bad, except for the waiting time: reasonable or excessive. Final question is an overall assessment of the service from 0 to 10. Survey allows for comments or suggestions.
A total of 86 surveys were conducted between January and September 2023. The majority were from users of the pharmacy service in the main building of the university hospital complex (82.6%). 10.6% were from first-time appointment and were mainly patients who answered (67.4%). Age groups: 65 years (12.8%). Regarding the evaluation, the results were: information about appointments, 51.8% very good; waiting time from the appointment time to receiving attention, 59.3% reasonable; professionalism of the staff, 59.3% very good; respect for privacy, 59.3% very good; pharmaceutical information about the treatment, 51.2% very good. The evaluation of facilities where pharmaceutical care is provided to the patient were: 33.7% bad and 9.3% very bad. The average score for the overall assessment was 6.7 points.
The evaluation of the information obtained from the surveys will serve as a basis for implementing corrective measures and possible improvements. The progressive increase in the number of survey will facilitate the detection of new issues and allow us to track changes in user satisfaction over time.
