The EAHP EU Monitor is a regular round up of news relevant to hospital pharmacy in Europe.

Register for the EAHP-ESCP Oath to Society Launch Event 

Are you interested to meet face to face with the European Association of Hospital Pharmacists (EAHP) and the European Society of Clinical Pharmacy (ESCP)? Join us on the 12th of October 2021 from 11.30 to 13.30 CEST, at the Press Club Brussels Europe (Rue Froissart 95, 1000 Brussels, Belgium) for the launch of the EAHP-ESCP Oath to Society!

The Oath to Society is the promise that the members of EAHP and ESCP make to the patients and public they serve, the healthcare professionals they interact with and the health systems they work in. The panel discussion will provide an opportunity to reflect on the Oath to Society, the wider contributions of clinical and hospital pharmacists and the viewpoints of key stakeholders. Speakers include István Ujhelyi (Member of the European Parliament), Sibylle Reichert (AIM - International Association of Mutual Benefit Societies), Juan José Fernández Romero (EPF - European Patients' Forum), Ber Oomen (ESNO - European Specialist Nurses Organisation), Pascal Garel (HOPE - European Hospital and Healthcare Federation) and Marc Hermans (UEMS - European Union of Medical Specialists).

Registration for this event is free of charge but mandatory. Please note that due to the current COVID measures, seating availability is limited and registrations will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis. You will receive an email confirming your registration.

Register HERE for the EAHP-ESCP Oath to Society Launch Event

Learn more about the Launch Event HERE

 

Participate in EAHP’s Survey on Hazardous Medicinal Products 

To better understand the classification landscape for hazardous medicinal products in Europe, the European Association of Hospital Pharmacists (EAHP) has established a Special Interest Group (SIG) on Hazardous Medicinal Products which is seeking further input for their work by means of a survey activity. The SIG invites chief pharmacists to provide feedback by the 10^th of October 2021.

EAHP's Survey on Hazardous Medicinal Products is collecting feedback from chief hospital pharmacists across Europe on the existing classification landscape and standards. In addition, it looks at the implementation and guidelines for handling hazardous medicinal products, awareness as well as monitoring and supervision by healthcare institutions. Seven different language versions of the survey have been made available. Make sure that you use one of them to share your views!

Access the Croatian version HERE 
Access the English version HERE 
Access the French version HERE 
Access the German version HERE 
Access the Polish version HERE
Access the Spanish version HERE

 

#EAHP2022 – Abstract deadline only 17 days away 

The abstract submission for EAHP’s 26^th Congress next March is in full swing. Hospital pharmacists that have not yet submitted their abstract are encouraged to do so by the 15^th of October 2021.

Abstracts must be written in accordance with a pre-defined structure (background, purpose, materials and methods, results, conclusions) and they should not exceed the limit of 350 words. The online submission system will guide abstract authors through the process. Abstract authors are also kindly reminded to carefully read and comply with the guidelines presented on EAHP's website which outline the review process, provide guidance to those submitting abstracts for the first time and list tips on avoiding abstract rejection. Submissions of abstracts from all disciplines of hospital pharmacy or related areas are encouraged, provided that they can be linked to one of the 44 European Statements of Hospital Pharmacy. Questions concerning the abstract submission process can be addressed to abstract[at]eahp[dot]eu.

Learn more about the abstract submission process HERE

Find out more about EAHP’s 26^th Congress taking place from the 23^rd to 25^th of March 2022 in Vienna, Austria HERE - Register for EAHP’s 26^th Congress HERE

Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn to stay up-to-date with the latest news from #EAHP2022 

 

Spread awareness, stop resistance – getting ready for WAAW and EAAD  

Like every year, the World Antimicrobial Awareness Week (WAAW) – taking place from 18^th to 24^th of November 2021 – will be used to strengthen awareness about antimicrobial resistance (AMR). In Europe, the 18^th of November traditionally marks the occasion of the European Antibiotic Awareness Day (EAAD). Both WHO and the European Centre for Diseases Prevention and Control (ECDC) will prepare materials that can be used during EAAD and WAAW to raise awareness about AMR.

This year’s WAAW campaign will encourage stakeholders, including policymakers, health care providers, and the general public to recognize that everyone can be an AMR Awareness champion. Participants are encouraged to spread awareness about what AMR is, share stories about its consequences, and demonstrate how the actions of individuals, families, professionals, and communities affect the spread of AMR.

EAAD provides a platform for and support to national campaigns on prudent use of antibiotics, with over 43 countries having had campaigns since its initiation in 2008. The 2021 edition will focus on the theme “In times of COVID 19, don’t forget about antimicrobial resistance. Stay united to preserve antimicrobials”.

Learn more about WAAW 2021 and access campaign materials HERE

Learn more about EAAD HERE

 

European Health Emergency preparedness and Response Authority (HERA) launched  

On 16 September, the European Commission shared its plans for the European Health Emergency preparedness and Response Authority (HERA). It is a key pillar of the European Health Union that will help fill a gap in the EU's health emergency response and preparedness.

It is HERA’s task to anticipate threats and potential health crises, through intelligence gathering and building the necessary response capacities and to ensure the development, production and distribution of medicines, vaccines and other medical countermeasures when a health emergency hits. HERA will be set up as an internal Commission structure. It will be fully operational early in 2022. Its functioning will be reviewed and adapted on an annual basis until 2025 when a full review will be carried out.

Access the European Commission Communication about HERA HERE

Questions and answers about HERA are available HERE

 

FIP releases new Statement on Digital Health

 

 

 

 

EJHP: A survey of the antidote preparedness in Norwegian hospitals 

The online first edition of the European Journal of Hospital Pharmacy (EJHP) has published an article looking at the antidote preparedness in Norwegian hospitals as regards the national recommendations and compare this with other international guidelines. Data was gathered via a digital survey sent to the 50 hospitals in Norway that treat acute poisonings. Each hospital was asked which antidotes they stockpiled from a list of 35 antidotes. The researchers found varying compliance with the national recommendations for antidote storage in hospitals. To strengthen antidote preparedness, they recommend standardised European guidelines to support national guidelines.

Read the article HERE

 

 

 

[EAHP Statement Corner]

European Statement Evidence Map

EAHP’s Statement website contains an evidence map that helps hospital pharmacists to identify case studies, Statement Implementation Collaborative Learning Centres (SILCCs) and Good Practice Initiatives (GPIs). The evidence map is available via the following LINK.

 

 [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

 

[Spotlight]

EAHP Position Paper on Access to Medicines

Ensuring that patients receive the medication they need to improve their health and to prevent and cure diseases is the key topic of EAHP’s Position Paper on Access to Medicines. Given that growing healthcare expenditure has become a problem for many European countries that also affects patients who are increasingly faced with avoidable accessibility and affordability issues, EAHP has chosen to look at the barriers to access and enablers that could help improve it.

Lack of purposeful procurement practices, national pricing and reimbursement policy choices jeopardising patients' adequate access, medicine shortages and the unavailability in certain markets that are leading to inequity between Member States are the main barriers identified in the position. For the provision of affordable medicines of good quality that are given in a timely manner to patients, EAHP advocates for breaking down these barriers to treatment access and calls for uptake of enablers that promote and safeguard the access of patients to both new life-saving medicines and older, essential medicines must be increased. Enablers mentioned refer to health technology assessments (HTAs), including common reports at EU level, collaboration and best practice sharing on pricing and reimbursement, increasing the use of prevention measures and fostering innovation and research

To achieve an equilibrium between the barriers and the enablers to treatment access, the following has been put forward by EAHP:

• Recommendation to leverage and utilise the expertise of the hospital pharmacist in pharmacoeconomics and the assessment of drug effectiveness within value-based evaluation approaches. Additionally, the implementation of the forthcoming HTA Regulation should be used for the expansion of healthcare professional input in HTAs at both European and national level.
• Support for EURIPID and the suggestion that the tool developed by this collaboration should not only be applied on its own but in conjunction with other policy measures, including transparency.
• Collaboration between hospital managers and hospital pharmacists to increase the uptake of risk assessments in hospitals.
• Investments to support the development of innovative proposals and the encouragement of practice-based research projects to investigate new fields of infectious disease control such as immunotherapy and to optimise the cost-effectiveness of systems for surveillance on antibiotic use and resistance.

In relation to the developments linked to the European Health Union aided by the implementation of the Pharmaceutical Strategy, EAHP underlined its commitment to working together with the European institutions and other stakeholders by giving a voice to access issues that otherwise might be forgotten.

Read the Position Paper on Access to Medicines HERE