EAHP represents over 30,000 hospital pharmacists across 37 member countries. EAHP represents and develops the hospital pharmacy profession within Europe in order to ensure the continuous improvement of care and outcomes for patients in the hospital setting. This is achieved through science, research, education, practice, as well as sharing best-practice and responsibility with other healthcare professional
The EAHP Board, elected for three-year terms, oversees the association’s activities. Comprising directors responsible for core functions, it meets regularly to implement strategic goals. Supported by EAHP staff, the Board controls finances, coordinates congress organization, and ensures compliance with statutes and codes of conduct.
The EAHP staff supports the Board in executing EAHP’s mission. The Staff assists in financial management, events organisations, policy activities and all EAHP projects. The EAHP staff works closely with EAHP’s members and ensures the effective communication all relevant stakeholders.
The first member countries were Belgium, Britain, Denmark, France, the Federal Republic, Germany, Italy and The Netherlands in 1972. EAHP has now 36 EAHP members and 2 Associate Members. EAHP is open to countries members of the Council of Europe and since 2022 to organisations representing the interests of hospital pharmacists from outside the Council of Europe (Associate Membership)
EAHP’s structure is also composed by different standing committes: EAHP Scientific Committee, EAHP Education Executive Committee and the EAHP CTF Steering Committee.
At EAHP, we are committed to transparency in our governance, ethical standards, and funding practices. This section provides open access to our foundational documents, including the EAHP Statutes, Code of Conduct, and Funding Sources. By sharing these resources, we aim to uphold accountability and foster trust with our members, partners, and the public.
Keep up with all EAHP’s events and webinars. Contact the team at info@eahp.eu should you have any questions about upcoming events or activities.
Here you can find all upcoming events organised by EAHP and by all its members and associate members. Do not hesitate to contact the events team at events@eahp.eu should you have any questions about the organisation of these events.
Hospital pharmacists conduct a critical role in the care of patients in hospitals. Learn more about what they do here and in all the pages under Hospital Pharmacy practice and Policy.
Self-Assessment
SILCC
Closed SIGs
EAHP brings together experts from many areas of hospital pharmacy practice providing and highlighting good local sustainable practices as that can be up-scaled and shared with other countries. The EAHP Working Group on Sustainability has the aim of reducing the environmental burden of the hospital pharmacy services.
The European Association of Hospital Pharmacists (EAHP), and its 36 member country platforms are creating a Common Training Framework for the hospital pharmacy education in Europe. The goal of this project is to allow the free movement of hospital pharmacists within the European Union.
The European Association of Hospital Pharmacists (EAHP) and the European Society of Clinical Pharmacy (ESCP) have collaboratively developed the Oath to Society. The Oath to Society is all encompassing and acts as a contract for excellence in providing compassionate patient care, working as part of the healthcare team and advancing the pharmacy profession, and showcasing how clinical and hospital pharmacists work every day
A day created to highlight the importance and to celebrate the work done by hospital pharmacies. This day celebrates all hospital pharmacy teams.
The Early Career Network aims to empower early-career pharmacists by sharing opportunities, insights, and success stories from across 25 member countries.
Together, we’re building a stronger, more connected hospital pharmacy community: one story, one country, one pharmacist at a time.
Catch up with EAHP’s press releases
Find all EAHP relevant publication like the EAHP Surveys, annual reports and the history books.
The European Journal of Hospital Pharmacy (EJHP) is the only official journal of the European Association of Hospital Pharmacists (EAHP) and is committed to advancing the science, practice and profession of hospital pharmacy. As the premier communication platform for hospital pharmacists worldwide, EJHP is a major source for continuing education as well as updates on advances in the practice and standard of pharmaceutical care for patients.
When EAHP and Hospital pharmacists appear in the news.
EAHP publishes a monthly EU monitor with updates about the latest EAHP initiatives and information relevant for the hospital pharmacy profession.
The Sponsor Channel is designed to maximise visibility and engagement, allowing sponsors to connect with the hospital pharmacy community and partners in a dynamic and interactive environment. From product demonstrations to networking sessions, the Sponsor Channel offers a range of opportunities for sponsors to showcase their offerings and generate leads in the new EAHP Website.
Patient Safety and Quality Assurance
S. Ambrosini, V. Orlando, C. Provezza Provezza, A. Zaltieri, N. Zanini, N. Faroni
Ensuring a multidisciplinary approach to the comprehensive care of hospitalized patients is a recognized indicator of healthcare quality. This strategy proved highly effective in the management of a patient with a multidrug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA) infection and a severe sacral pressure injury, requiring advanced antimicrobial therapy, targeted nutritional support, and specialized wound care to promote healing.
Multicompromised patients increasingly challenge hospital care due to infections from multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacteria, which limit therapeutic options and complicate management. Prolonged hospitalization also raises the risk of pressure injuries, worsening metabolic stress and delaying recovery. This initiative aim to apply an integrated therapeutic strategy—combining a reserve antibiotic, advanced wound care and tailored nutritional support—to promote healing, control infection and restore nutritional balance in a highly vulnerable patient.
The patient received Cefiderocol (2 g every 8 hours) and Fosfomycin (4 g every 6 hours) for six weeks to treat the PA infection. The pressure injury was managed with an oxygen-enriched oleic matrix dressing from organic olive oil, allowing controlled release of reactive oxygen species (ROS) to stimulate microcirculation, cell proliferation, and antimicrobial activity. Dressings were changed two to three times weekly based on progress. Nutritional needs were supported with a high-calorie, high-protein oral supplement (ONS) containing arginine, zinc, vitamin C, selenium, and carotenoids, given once or twice daily to enhance collagen synthesis and tissue repair.
This multidisciplinary strategy enabled the prompt definition and implementation of an optimal diagnostic–therapeutic pathway. The intervention and collaboration of multiple healthcare professionals ensured a faster and more effective patient response to treatment. The active involvement of the infectious disease specialist, clinical dietitian, wound care nurse, and hospital pharmacist guaranteed comprehensive, high-quality patient management —from drug and medical device supply to the successful resolution of infection and wound healing, while preventing malnutrition.
Establishing structured treatment pathways through multidisciplinary teams contributes to a more efficient and sustainable healthcare system. This experience represents an example of best practice, highlighting how collaboration among healthcare professionals—including pharmacists as medication safety officers—can be effectively translated to other hospital settings.
Patient Safety and Quality Assurance
Anna Lydon & Jonathan Day
National drug recalls and Government issued Medicines Supply Notifications (MSNs) must be responded to promptly to minimise risk to patients and ensure stock safety. Within our Trust, comprising four hospital sites at different locations, an incident occurred where a recall email received over a bank holiday weekend which went unnoticed. The existing system relied solely on staff checking their emails, which posed a risk of delayed action—particularly during weekends, leave periods, and across multiple sites. This highlighted the need for a more robust and transparent process to ensure that all recalls and MSNs are received, actioned, and tracked in real time.
A digital process was developed using Microsoft Power Automate and Artificial Intelligence (AI) to automate the handling of drug recalls and MSN emails. The flow triggers when a drug recall or MSN email is received. It extracts key information using AI, and automatically distributes the information across the relevant pharmacy and clinical teams across all Trust sites.
When a drug recall or MSN email is received, the attached PDF is analysed with an AI model trained with specific prompts to extract key fields including the drug name, MSN number, date, impact level and required actions. The extracted data automatically populates the MSN or drug recall Excel log – replacing what was a manual data entry process. Power Automate then initiates an approval process and posts a summarised Teams notification into a Teams channel for all relevant members. Each member receives the alert and one person from each site must acknowledge receipt. Following acknowledgement from a member of each site, Power Automate posts a confirmation in the Teams channel, enhancing transparency and providing assurance that the recall has been actioned. AI determines the appropriate clinical speciality for the drug and automatically directs a summary email to the corresponding pharmacists and clinicians working in that area.
The process ensures consistent and timely handling of recalls and MSNs, reducing reliance on individual inbox monitoring. It has improved visibility across all sites, eliminated missed notifications, and significantly reduced manual data entry time. Staff feedback has been positive, with greater confidence that all recalls and MSNs are captured and actioned promptly.
Future plans include integrating automatic escalation plans for unacknowledged alerts. The same model could also be expanded to other time-critical communications, such as National Patient Safety Alerts to further strengthen medicines governance across the organisation.
Selection, Procurement and Distribution
Anne Flou Kristensen
Alice Østergaard Deleuran
When introducing new storage facilities, a risk-based approach according to EU GMP/EudraLex – Volume 4, must be applied during implementation and qualification, to ensure supply continuity, product quality and patient safety.
The existing cold storage facility was worn out and difficult to keep in compliance. The aim of the project was thus to implement a new compliant cold facility to ensure redundance and robustness and to accommodate current work processes related to cold storage.
The implementation was divided into different phases; design and dimensioning, and construction and qualification, where a risk-based approach was applied in each phase, securing the correct measures were considered at the right time. Further, qualification principles presented in EU GMP, Annex 15 were adapted, and a full qualification cycle including SAT, DQ, IQ, OQ and PQ was conducted.
The design and dimensioning of the facilities resulted in two separate cold storage rooms, supplied from two separate redundant refrigerating units. This secures robustness in case of system failure from one of the units, and in case of facility maintenance.
The risk-based qualification plan included the current workflows regarding cooling of large-volume products. A comprehensive DQ and IQ was conducted to secure correct design and installation, and OQ and PQ included different testcases encompassing extensive temperature mapping, hot and cold spot detection, max load-test, crash and recovery testing and daily operations to test if the storage facilities were compliant with correct storage conditions and current workflows.
The cold storage facilities were implemented according to the plan after a successful execution of the qualification. Qualification results identified check points to use in temperature monitoring and defining work-process parameters, e.g. door-opening time related to loading, to mitigate the risks of exceeding correct storing conditions. Further, in case of a deviation related to temperature or established workflows, the extensive results can be applied to evaluate and ensure the quality of stored items. The project demonstrates the importance of adapting quality by design approach, to enhance robustness and consistence when implementing new cold storage facilities.
Patient Safety and Quality Assurance
Anna Lydon & Jonathan Day
Homecare prescriptions are physically sent to external homecare companies for dispensing, so the hospital must retain a copy for governance, audit and continuity of care. Previously, prescriptions were scanned in and manually moved to local folders with variable filenames, introducing risk of error, no audit trail and duplicated effort (pharmacy and clinical teams both scanning). This was a slow, manual process, with a typical delay of around 2-3 weeks before prescriptions were uploaded due to the high volume. We therefore needed a safer, faster and auditable process to retain copies of homecare prescriptions in the official patient record.
We developed a Robotic Process Automation (RPA) which involved ustilising an Artificial Intelligence (AI) enabled workflow to capture homecare prescriptions, extract key fields, automatically file using standardised filenames, validate patient identifiers, and automatically upload documents into the patient record for all healthcare professionals (HCP) to view in real time.
We used Microsoft Power Automate and Azure AI to build an AI-driven RPA process to read scanned homecare prescriptions, extract key fields, standardise filenames, validate patient identifiers, and automatically upload documents into the official patient record. Within the automatic process, there are built-in validation checks to verify AI-extracted fields. If the AI confidence score is low or a check fails, the workflow prompts for human confirmation of the patient’s hospital number and then resumes processing.
To date, the solution has processed over 5,000 homecare prescriptions with 98% field-extraction accuracy. Average handling time has reduced from 3 minutes per prescription to 10 seconds per 50 prescriptions, equating to around 5 hours saved per 100 prescriptions. This novel process has released 7.5 hours of pharmacy staff time per week. Prescriptions are now available in the patient record in real time, improving information availability at the point of care and enabling staff to focus on higher value tasks. This has strengthened data quality and governance, and provides an audit trail whilst reducing duplication of work between pharmacy and multiple clinical teams.
We plan to extend the workflow so that all AI-extracted fields are written back to the Homecare Patient SQL database, creating a single, queryable source of truth and enabling automated checks, dashboards and reporting. We also plan to roll the solution out for other prescription types (outpatient and discharge), replacing off-site paper storage with searchable patient records, reducing storage costs, improving retrieval times, and strengthening governance.
Production and Compounding
Luísa Ávares
António Daniel Mendes
Diana Monteiro
Sara Brandão Madureira
Rafael Sá e Silva
Lúcia Costa
Patrocínia Rocha
Nuclear medicine procedures involve the administration of Iodine-123, Iodine-131, and Technetium-99m, which are taken up by thyroid tissue and may compromise image quality. Blocking this uptake is essential to ensure diagnostic and therapeutic accuracy while minimizing unnecessary radiation exposure. In clinical practice, competitive inhibitors of the transmembrane sodium-iodide symporter (NIS) are used to prevent radionuclide binding.
The institution previously used an oral sodium perchlorate solution as a compounded medication (CM). Due to difficulties in sourcing high-quality raw materials, the Radiopharmacy Unit, in collaboration with the Pharmaceutics Unit, explored alternative options.
Identified active substances for thyroid blockade and evaluated their availability and suitability for use within the institution.
Developed, prepared, and introduced potassium perchlorate capsules into the therapeutic arsenal.
Validated thyroid blockade using potassium perchlorate capsules through imaging studies.
Literature review to select a suitable pharmacological alternative.
Pharmaceutical development of potassium perchlorate capsules, including powder classification, bulk density determination, flowability assessment, and capsule size selection using an algebraic method.
Imaging analysis of radionuclide angiograms acquired at equilibrium after capsule administration.
Three alternatives were identified: sodium perchlorate, potassium iodide, and potassium perchlorate; none are commercially available in Portugal. Importing sodium perchlorate solution was costly and impractical. Potassium iodide (5% Lugol’s solution) has a short shelf-life and requires administration up to 48 hours before the procedure.
The 200 mg potassium perchlorate capsules offer several advantages: adjustable dosing (400–600 mg), administration up to one hour before the procedure, greater stability, and suitability for patients allergic to iodine. Cervical and thoracic imaging confirmed effective thyroid blockade without compromising image interpretation, demonstrating reproducibility and reduced thyroid radiation exposure.
Potassium perchlorate capsules, prepared as a CM, were effective, suitable, and enriched the institution’s therapeutic options, representing a viable alternative to sodium perchlorate. Clinical validation confirmed no negative impact on image quality.
Future steps include monitoring long-term clinical outcomes and exploring broader implementation of potassium perchlorate capsules in routine nuclear medicine practice.
Patient Safety and Quality Assurance
Cruz Pardos, S. González Andrés, D. López San Román, MA
One of the standards established by the Joint Commission (JC) involves the identification of medications that may have risk to patients and/or be a potential source of error during its dispensation or administration. This includes look-alike/sound-alike (LASA) medications, high-risk medications (HRMs) defined by the Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP), concentrated electrolytes, and hazardous drugs (HD) according to NIOSH classification.
A tag system was designed using color-coded stickers with specific text to identify each of the medication groups defined above:
• Red stickers with the statement “High risk medication” for HRMs.
• Red stickers with the statement “Dilute before administration” for concentrated electrolytes.
• Yellow stickers with the statement “Reproductive risk” or “Hazardous drug – handle with care” for HD.
• LASA medications: Red stickers were used for those that are also high-alert, while green stickers were applied to non-high-alert LASA drugs.
In addition, for medications requiring repackaging, the repackaging protocol was modified. The changes included:
• Labelling the medication profile with either HIGH-ALERT MEDICATION or HAZARDOUS DRUG.
• Using different photoprotective packaging paper: red for HRMs and yellow for HD
At first, two working protocols were developed:
1. Labelling protocol, detailing the characteristics of each type of sticker used to identify the different medication categories.
2. Repackaging protocol, ensuring proper identification of these medications during the repackaging process.
Secondly, lists of every category were compiled of the hospital’s available medications.
For LASA medications, brand names and images were included to improve differentiation and minimize errors.
• Identification of each medication according to their category at every stage of the medication use process: reception, storage, dispensing, and administration.
• Increased awareness among nursing staff regarding the safe and appropriate handling of these medications.
• The impact of these labelling project among all medicaments available in our hospital was: MAR: 18,6% , MP: 6,1% and LASA: 15,24%
• Develop a procurement protocol aimed at reducing the number of LASA medications.
• Raise awareness within the pharmaceutical industry about the importance of clearly differentiating pharmaceutical products.
• Automate the labelling process as much as possible, to avoid repetitive work.
Education and Research
FERNANDEZ LOPEZ, ELISA GEORGINA; SANTOS FAGUNDO, ANDREA; ESQUIVEL NEGRIN, JORGE; PEÑA HERNANDEZ, JOSEPHINE; GONZALEZ CRESPO, ALVARO; MAGDALENA PEREZ, AMARA; MARTIN CONDE, JOSE ANTONIO; DIAZ RUIZ, MARIA PILAR
Training in hospital pharmacy involves numerous critical technical processes (e.g. sterile preparations, parenteral nutrition, cytotoxic drugs, automated dispensing). These procedures demand high precision and adherence to protocols. Variability in training methods may lead to errors and reduced efficiency. To standardize training and provide residents and professionals with an accessible reference, a structured video library was developed.
A comprehensive training video library covering key technical processes in hospital pharmacy was designed and implemented in a tertiary hospital. The goal was to improve resident education, ensure adherence to protocols, and provide a rapid consultation tool for daily practice.
Training videos were produced for the following areas: sterile preparations (intravitreal injections, intrathecal, collyria, subcutaneous and intravenous re-dispensing, analgesia pumps), parenteral nutrition (adult and neonatal), cytotoxics (IV, SC, chemoembolization particles, elastomeric devices, intrathecal), laminar flow cabinet operation, pharmacy software tutorials, automated dispensing systems (Athos, carousels, outpatient robot), and logistics management (orders, forecasts). Each video followed a technical and regulatory script. Content was validated by professionals and residents through a pilot phase. The final materials were integrated into the hospital’s internal platform, with controlled access. Impact was assessed via satisfaction surveys and monitoring of procedural execution.
After one year, 85% of users reported improved learning and knowledge retention, while 100% of residents stated increased confidence in performing procedures. The tool has contributed to training standardization, greater adherence to protocols, and facilitated quick access to updated resources.
Future steps include producing additional videos, updating existing content according to regulatory/technological changes, and expanding the model to other hospital pharmacy departments. While it does not replace supervised practical training, this tool complements it and has strong potential for replication in other hospitals to improve quality and safety in pharmaceutical care.
Patient Safety and Quality Assurance
Maria Teixeira; André Maia; Ana Catré; Inês Margalho; Joana Duque; Marisa Costa; Marta Susana; Miguel Paulo; Tomás Sousa; Vânia Pereira; Teresa Pereira
Thermolabile drugs require special storage conditions(2°C-8°C).[1] They represent a group with relevant economic value in Pharmaceutical Services(PS), therefore, processes must be guaranteed to maintain the storage temperature throughout the entire circuit.[2] CBR can cause changes in the characteristics of drugs and compromise their stability, efficacy and safety.[1,2] It is the responsibility of the PS to establish procedures and assess whether or not drugs exposed to a temperature excursion can be used.[3]
We analyzed the economic impact of Cold Chain Breaks (CRB) occurring in Primary Health Care (PHC) at the Local Health Unit (ULS).
A spreadsheet document was developed for action in cases of CRB for PHC, and a database was created with the responses provided by the laboratories. The document is sent to the PHC unit, to be completed by the nurse in charge, who identifies the cause, duration, temperature reached, and medications in the refrigerator. After analysis by the PS, a report is sent with information on stability studies and respective conclusions per item. The excursion is then valued based on the average price of the item and the available quantity. A database was created with the valuation of all CRBs.
Between April 2024 and July 2025, 14 temperature excursions were recorded, of which 7 in 2025. The total number of affected items was 2,327, representing a total value of €55,595.6. Of these, it was possible to avoid the waste of 1,722(74%), corresponding to €40,652, and 605(26%) were eliminated, with a total of €14,943.6. The CRB occurred due to anomalies in the power supply to the equipment 80%(12) and refrigerator breakdown 20%(3). The number of vaccines subject to CRB per month in 2024 was 257 units(U), and in 2025 it was 80U.
An analysis of the causes of CRBs reveals that they are mostly related to infrastructure, with only 20% related to equipment failures. Therefore, emergency plans for equipment must be developed. It is essential to establish preventive actions collaboratively among all professional groups involved, with an emphasis on sustainability and efficient resource management, to minimize risks and avoid significant losses.
Patient Safety and Quality Assurance
Vanusa Barbosa Pinto, Andréa Cássia Pereira Sforsin, Cleuber Esteves Chaves, Carolina Broco Manin, Priscila Faria França, Amanda Magalhaes Vilas Boas Cambiais, Carolina Ferreira Dos Santos, Lidiane Baltieri Gomes, Priscilla Alves Rocha, Maria Cleusa Martins
The Pharmacy Division of a large tertiary hospital implemented structured risk governance, anchored by a risk matrix integrated into strategic planning and monitored by Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). The primary goal was to reduce risks across the entire medication use process—from selection to administration—using the matrix to guide continuous improvement cycles (PDCA) and ensure proactive, predictive risk management.
Tertiary hospitals with complex medication processes often face a high incidence of adverse events and waste due to fragmented risk management. The aim was to proactively mitigate risks classified as high and extreme, not only enhancing medication safety but also improving efficiency and operational response time. The initiative also sought to strengthen the internal safety culture by encouraging increased near-miss reporting.
The project involved an end-to-end mapping of pharmaceutical care in 2024, with risk scoring (probability x consequence). Critical KPIs were defined: service level, prescription evaluation rate, adverse event reports for compounded products, and near-miss reports. Results were reviewed in multi-professional committees to guide PDCA improvement cycles. One specific action plan involved implementing Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) in medication distribution to enhance traceability.
Between 2024 and 2025, the absolute number of risks classified as extreme decreased, and five risks reduced their criticality. The intervention demonstrated objective gains: service level increased from 77.82% to 84.40%; adverse event reports for compounded products decreased from 11 to 6; and the average monthly near-miss reports increased from 34 to 44, strengthening the safety culture. Notably, the PDA implementation contributed to the medication traceability rate increasing from 12.5% to 50.2%.
This governance model, focused on risk mitigation through PDCA cycles and critical KPIs, proved to be a practical and effective strategy for achieving sustainable gains in medication safety and efficiency. The practice is highly transferable and scalable, reinforcing the strategic role of the hospital pharmacy in integrating planning, quality, and technological innovation, and serving as a benchmark for other high-complexity institutions.
Selection, Procurement and Distribution
Torres-Pérez, Andrés
Iglesias-Valín, Ana Rut
Mateos-Salvador, María
Fernandez-Gabriel, Elena
Feal-Cortizas, María Begoña
Fernandez-Diz, Clara
Gómez-Costa, Eva
Caeiro-Martinez, Laura
Margusino-Framiñán, Luis
An individualized dosing procedure for Pegasys® (peginterferon alfa-2a) was implemented, using syringes adjusted to the prescribed dose. The primary aim was to guarantee continuous and safe patient treatment during the global shortage, while also optimizing the use of 90 µg vials.
In 2024, a worldwide supply disruption of Pegasys® occurred, creating a risk of treatment interruption for hematology patients. Since many prescriptions were below 90 µg, direct vial use caused significant drug waste and aggravated the shortage. A fractionation system was developed, combining coordinated workflow and a risk-based stability assignment, to ensure continuity of care for all patients with the additional benefit of reducing economic impact. The project started on 21 October 2024 and remains ongoing.
A structured workflow between hematology and the hospital pharmacy was established. After each medical visit, the hematologist contacted the pharmacist responsible for the hematology outpatient clinic, who reviewed the prescription and informed the compounding pharmacists of the preparation schedule and updated doses. Syringes were filled under aseptic conditions, stored at 2–8°C protected from light, and delivered to the hematology pharmacy clinic the day before dispensing.
The 30-day stability was assigned according to the hospital’s risk assessment matrix, supported by published stability data from similar products. The process was internally validated in line with hospital compounding standards.
To date, the strategy has allowed treatment of 18 patients, with 332 syringes obtained from 90 µg vials, the majority of which corresponded to 45 µg or lower doses. This approach achieved a 51% reduction in the number of vials used, representing savings of €20,791.
Most importantly, no patient experienced treatment delays or interruptions, ensuring therapeutic continuity and safe handling during the global shortage. No stability issues or administration-related problems were reported.
The protocol will be maintained in our hospital and could be adapted by other centers facing similar shortages. This experience highlights the key role of hospital pharmacists not only in cost management, but above all in the guarantee of safe and continuous access to essential medicines.
