16 May 2014

A robust set of hospital pharmacy practice standards for Europe has been agreed at an international Summit in Brussels. These standards should be met across European health systems to ensure safe, effective and optimal use of medicines in collaboration with multi-disciplinary teams. The standards, comprising 44 statements of practice, were agreed at the European Summit on Hospital Pharmacy which concluded on Thursday 15th May, and was attended by more than 100 persons.

The statements were subject to open Delphi consultation with national hospital pharmacy associations, European patient groups, doctors and nursing organisations. The organisations then gave their final joint approval to each statement individually by a weighted voting method at the Summit event. The European Statements of Hospital Pharmacy include:

• All hospitals should have access to a hospital pharmacist who has overall responsibility for the safe, effective and optimal use of medicines.
• Hospital pharmacists should be involved in all patient care settings to prospectively influence collaborative, multidisciplinary therapeutic decision-making.
• All prescriptions should be reviewed and validated as soon as possible by a hospital pharmacist.
• Hospital pharmacists should play a full part in decision making including advising, implementing and monitoring medication changes in full partnership with patients, carers and other health care professionals
• Hospital pharmacists should have access to the patients’ health record.  Their clinical interventions should be documented in the patients’ health record and analysed to inform quality improvement interventions.
• Clinical pharmacy services should continuously evolve to optimise patients’ outcomes.

The 44 European Statements of Hospital Pharmacy are available here.

Dr Roberto Frontini, President of the European Association of Hospital Pharmacists (EAHP) said:

“Through the new European Statements of Hospital Pharmacy, patients, hospital pharmacists and our sister healthcare professionals have set out a clear vision for what hospital pharmacy should be achieving in every European country. The task now turns immediately to implementation. EAHP will roll out a series of tools and initiatives to support the achievement of the statements, but a major onus now falls on health systems to prepare the way for improvement as well. The positive support from patient organisations and other healthcare professionals assures us that the statements are a shared aspiration and provide a route towards continuously improving patient care within hospitals in every European country.”

ENDS

For further information contact info[at]eahp[dot]eu 00 322 741 6835

NOTES TO EDITORS:

1. The European Association of Hospital Pharmacists (EAHP) is an association of national organisations across 34 countries representing hospital pharmacists at European and international levels. More information about the EAHP and its history here.

2. The full text of the 44 statements is available here.

3. The European Summit on Hospital Pharmacy was held at the Diamant Business Centre in Brussels on 14-15 May 2014. More information about the Summit is available here.

4. A video giving the background to the Summit is available here.

5. 31 national hospital pharmacy associations voted alongside 12 patient organisations, 4 nursing organisations and 3 doctors’ organisations used a weighted methodology that awarded 50% of the overall vote to hospital pharmacists, 25% to healthcare professionals and 25% to patient organisations. A statement required a scored consensus approval of 85% to pass. More information about the voting methodology is available via this video (from 4.39). The results of the Summit voting are available here.

6. Photographs of the Summit, for reuse by the media, will be made available via the EAHP online press room. More information here.

7. Requests for interviews with Dr Roberto Frontini, President of the European Association of Hospital Pharmacists (EAHP), national hospital pharmacy delegates and attending patient and healthcare professional organisations can be made by contacting info[at]eahp[dot]eu.