EU Monitor 23 February 2022 - EAHP’s first SIG concludes its work
The EAHP EU Monitor is a regular round up of news relevant to hospital pharmacy in Europe.
EAHP Special Interest Group on Hazardous Medicinal Products concludes its work
Last year the European Association of Hospital Pharmacists (EAHP) opened a new chapter of hospital pharmacy engagement by setting up Special Interest Groups (SIGs). EAHP's SIGs gather and evaluate the evidence in specific, innovative and novel fields of hospital pharmacy practice with the aim to address patient needs and to advance the profession. The first SIG focused on Hazardous Medicinal Products concluded its activity earlier this month.
Chaired by EAHP’s former President Joan Peppard, the SIG on Hazardous Medicinal Products (financially supported by Amgen) investigated the different classification models that are used throughout Europe and examined whether these approaches are fit for their purpose. The SIG plans to release its report in late March. The report will outline the findings of the SIG that were collected through desk research, horizon scanning activities, surveys of hospital pharmacists’ views at individual and national levels complemented by the knowledge and experience of the SIG participants. In addition, the report will contain recommendations of the SIG and a European definition for the term ‘hazardous medicinal products’.
Those joining the EAHP Congress in Vienna will have the opportunity to attend the session “Hazardous Medicinal Products: the European classification landscape” during which Joan Peppard and Falko Schüllner will present the findings of the SIG. After attending this session participants will be able to recognise different classification models for hazardous medicinal products identified by the SIG (e.g. NIOSH, the Dutch model), including their strengths and weaknesses. Also, they will be able to identify hazardous medicinal products with the help of a proposed European definition and the European-developed classification model recommended by the SIG.
Learn more about the session “Hazardous Medicinal Products: the European classification landscape” HERE
Register for EAHP’s 26th Congress HERE
EAHP is turning 50 – celebrate by attending our annual Congress in March 2022
“Hospital pharmacists – changing roles in a changing world” is the theme of this year’s EAHP Congress taking place in 30 days in Vienna, Austria. In March, EAHP will also be celebrating the Association’s 50th anniversary. To mark this occasion, the annual EAHP Congress will provide attendees with the opportunity to take a stroll down memory lane while participating in continuing education activities. Join EAHP and hospital pharmacists from all over the world between the 23rd and 25th March 2022.
EAHP’s Scientific Committee under the leadership of Thomas De Rijdt has put together an outstanding Congress programme that takes into account present and future challenges of the profession. The three keynotes will provide participants with insights on the latest developments linked to value-based healthcare, shared decision making as well as cell and gene therapies in oncology:
- KEYNOTE 1 - What are we paying for? - From productivity to value-based healthcare
- KEYNOTE 2 - What people want from their medicines - Making shared decisions
- KEYNOTE 3 - The era of cell and gene therapies in oncology - Fiction, poetry, or science?
Different workshops will offer up-to-date information to attendees on for example working with limited resources, the role of the hospital pharmacist in disaster management, waste reduction, gene and cell therapies, compounding for paediatrics and medication safety. The Scientific Committee has also created again a dedicated session for students and young professionals that explores contemporary ethical challenges in hospital pharmacy practice. The best scientific research authored by a pharmacy student or recent graduate in the field of hospital pharmacy will also be recognised during Congress through the Student Science Award.
Workshops will help hospital pharmacists with expanding teamwork in the hospital, pharmacoeconomics, quality improvement and quality assurance, the prescribing cascade and patient-centred medication reviews. Also in 2022, EAHP will pay tribute to hospital pharmacists that have contributed to the implementation of the European Statements of Hospital Pharmacy. The most outstanding project will be rewarded with the Implementation Award.
Register for EAHP’s 26th Congress HERE
Learn more about the programme of EAHP’s 26th Congress HERE
Coronavirus information for Austria: please refer to the below webpages for information as these are updated on a regular basis.
Find the latest Coronavirus information for Vienna on the following official online tour guide of the City of Vienna
You can find more information for Austria on this on the website of the Austrian Federal Ministry of the Interior
Travel to Austria Meeting related updates
‘Healthier together’ – EU Non-Communicable Diseases Initiative launched
The European Commission has opened a call for best practices focusing on prevention and management of non-communicable diseases in particular cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, chronic respiratory diseases, mental health, neurological disorders and health determinants to reduce the burden that these diseases present and to improve the health of citizens across Europe. Until the 15th of May governmental and non-governmental actors are invited to submit their proposals for best practices via the EU Best Practice Portal.
This initiative seeks to address the leading causes of avoidable premature death, complementing the action on cancer carried out under Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan. There are different strands focusing on the disease areas covered by the ‘Healthier together’ – EU Non-Communicable Diseases Initiative as well as a horizontal strand on health determinants, including for example social determinants of health and health literacy, age, gender, culture-sensitive prevention and management, effective and efficient screening, participation of (recovered) patients in the labour market, multimorbidity and improvements towards person-centred, integrated care.
The initiative will develop around four components, each of them resulting in concrete actions on the ground with a special focus on health promotion and prevention. The components are:
a) Improve knowledge and data;
b) Promotion and prevention, including screening and early detection;
c) Optimise diagnosis and treatment; and
d) Improve the quality of life of patients.
The owners of the top-ranked best practices will be invited to present them to representatives from EU countries. This may lead to joint/wider implementation across the EU under the EU funding programmes.
Learn more about the initiative and submit your proposal to the EU Best Practice Portal HERE
EMA publishes human medicines highlights for 2021
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) recently released the human medicines highlights for 2021. Last year EMA recommended 92 medicines for marketing authorisation. Of these, 53 had a new active substance that had never been authorised in the European Union (EU) before. This is a 35% increase compared to the 39 medicines with a new active substance that were authorised in 2020. The overview includes figures on the authorisation of medicines and a selection of new treatments that represent significant progress in their therapeutic areas.
COVID-19 was a key priority for EMA in 2021 that led the agency to recommended four vaccines and five treatments for COVID-19. A lot of effort was also dedicated to scaling up vaccine manufacturing capacity and supply. Throughout the year, EMA approved 33 new manufacturing sites for COVID-19 vaccines, leading to a substantial increase in vaccine manufacturing capacity and supply.
Once a medicine is authorised by the European Commission and prescribed to patients, EMA and the EU Member States continuously monitor its quality and benefit-risk balance and take regulatory action when needed. Measures can include a change to the product information, the suspension or withdrawal of a medicine, or a recall of a limited number of batches. An overview of some of the most notable recommendations, including safety recommendations for COVID-19 vaccines that received global public attention, is also included in the document.
Read EMA’s human medicines highlights HERE
EDQM: Survey on the Safe Use of Herbal Products – deadline extended
The Committee of Experts on Quality and Safety Standards in Pharmaceutical Practices and Pharmaceutical Care (CD-P-PH/PC) of the European Directorate for the Quality of Medicines and HealthCare (EDQM) is currently carrying out a project aimed at improving the safe use of food supplements containing plants or plant-derived preparations. The intention is to provide patients and users with approaches and sources to seek accurate and trustworthy information on these products so that they can make informed decisions about their consumption. Healthcare professionals are encouraged to participate in the survey until the 14th of March 2022.
Access the questionnaire HERE
EJHP: March issue available
The March issue of the European Journal of Hospital Pharmacy (EJHP) was published. This edition focuses on antimicrobial resistance (AMR) a global challenge that in accordance with the editorial written by EAHP’s President András Süle deserve more attention. The March issue contains several original articles looking for instance at managing antibiotic shortages, quantifying the effect of in-hospital antimicrobial use on the development of colistin-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii strains, the potential impact of national recommendations to use short course antibiotic therapy on antibiotic use in the emergency department of a UK hospital and the role of the hospital pharmacist in an Italian antimicrobial stewardship programme. A short report touches on antifungal drug resistance while the case report shares information about the successful treatment of Verona integron-encoded metallo-β-lactamase-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae infection using the combination of ceftazidime/avibactam and aztreonam.
Read the EJHP March issue HERE
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[EAHP Statement Corner] |
Assess your pharmacy with EAHP’s SAT!
Since March 2018 EAHP has supported the implementation of the European Statements of Hospital Pharmacy with a self-assessment tool (SAT). EAHP’s SAT helps pharmacies across Europe to understand the level of Statement implementation. To ensure that as many hospital pharmacists as possible can use the SAT, different language versions (Czech, English, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Serbo-Croatian, Spanish and Turkish) have been made available. Talk to your chief pharmacist and encourage him/her to work with the SAT. In case you are the head of the pharmacy get your team together and complete your assessment today with the help of the SAT. Learn more about SAT HERE
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[COVID-19 Updates] |
EAHP’s COVID-19 Resource Centre
To assist its member associations and individual hospital pharmacists in this critical time with the provision of the best possible care for patients, EAHP has decided to gather and make available information on COVID-19 relevant for the hospital pharmacy profession.
Access the Resource Centre HERE
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[Spotlight] |
EAHP Position Paper on Hospital Pharmacy Specialisation
Hospital pharmacists are the key stakeholders responsible for medication management and safety in the hospital environment, covering both in- and out-patient services and supporting the seamless transition of care for patients moving within the healthcare system. To provide the best treatment for all patients, hospital pharmacists must be able to operate in a complex hospital setting and work collaboratively within multi-disciplinary healthcare teams.
To prepare the hospital pharmacy profession for the future, the European Association of Hospital Pharmacists (EAHP) adopted the European Statements of Hospital Pharmacy in 2014. They express commonly agreed objectives that every European health system should aim for in the delivery of hospital pharmacy services. To further enhance the quality, safety and equity of access to patient care in every European country, EAHP additionally created the Common Training Framework (CTF) project for hospital pharmacy education in Europe. This project not only fosters the further development of hospital pharmacy practice but also seeks to guarantee the access of European citizens to the highest available standard of care and the freedom of movement of the hospital pharmacy profession which is currently not accessible to all.
In June 2021, EAHP's General Assembly adopted a Position Paper on Hospital Pharmacy Specialisation. The position centres around advancing the profession by harmonising the recognition of hospital pharmacy education, enhancing the role of the hospital pharmacist and preparing the profession for future challenges.
To make a difference in medication by advancing the hospital pharmacy profession, EAHP
- calls on the European Commission and the Member States to assist the Association in setting up a CTF through the adoption of a delegated act;
- touches on the need for Member States to recognise the changing role of the hospital pharmacists and further foster their implementation; and,
- underlines the importance of further promoting the uptake of such cross-sector tools inter-sector communication, coordination and multi-disciplinary collaboration in all healthcare facilities should be strengthened.
To adequately address future challenges linked to the ageing society, changing healthcare needs and other unknown factors, like future pandemics, EAHP urges that Member States invest in better workforce planning for the hospital pharmacy profession, including the availability of hospital pharmacy services for all patients of each hospital.
Read EAHP's Position Paper on Hospital Pharmacy Specialisation HERE
[Consultations] |
EDQM - European Paediatric Formulary: two draft texts released for public consultation
The European Directorate for the Quality of Medicines & HealthCare (EDQM) has released Issue 4 of Pharmeuropa PaedForm, which contains two texts for public consultation, Simple syrup (preservative-free) and Phosphate 60 mg/mL Oral solution.
Deadline – 31st March 2022
Learn more about the consultation and contribute HERE