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Delegates from the 35 member countries of the European Association of Hospital Pharmacists (EAHP) came together on 11 and 12 June for the 51st General Assembly. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic this gathering was virtual. During the General Assembly, delegates received updates on EAHP’s educational activities, the core projects of the Association and current policy developments. Discussions centred on the implementation of the 44 European Statements of Hospital Pharmacy, the Common Training Framework for hospital pharmacy specialisation, access to medicines and the growing problem of medicines shortages, in particular those linked to immunoglobulins that are increasingly impacting patient care. At the end of the General Assembly, Andras Sule was welcomed as EAHP’s new President. For the next 3 years, he will be steering the Association. Dr Andras Sule is currently the Chief Pharmacist at Peterfy Hospital and Trauma Centre as well as the Chief Pharmacy Advisor at Duna Medical Centre, both located in Hungary. He is a guest lecturer and lead developer of the Hospital Pharmacy Specialisation programme at Semmelweis University in Budapest. In 2008, he obtained a PhD from Semmelweis University and has since gone on to complete a PharmD Specialisation in Pharmaceutical Technology and a PharmD Specialisation in Clinical Pharmacy. Reflecting on the goals for this 3 year presidency, Dr Andras Sule outlined the following: “I feel very honoured to take over EAHP’s primary leadership role from Petr Horak and his predecessors who have done a great job in improving patient care and advancing the hospital pharmacy profession in the almost 50 years that our Association now exists. I will have some very big shoes to fill, especially since I am taking over as EAHP’s President during a global pandemic. However, knowing our profession has gone above and beyond during this unprecedented time, I also feel confident that …

Medical devices are an essential part of the delivery of high-quality healthcare to patients all across Europe. In many countries, their procurement and management in the hospital setting falls often under the authority of hospital pharmacists. To further improve the safety of medical devices for European patients, a new regulatory regime was adopted in spring 2017 encompassing both the Medical Device Regulation (MDR) (Regulation (EU) 2017/745 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 April 2017 on medical devices, amending Directive 2001/83/EC, Regulation (EC) No 178/2002 and Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 and repealing Council Directives 90/385/EEC and 93/42/EEC) and the Invitro Medical Device Regulation(Regulation (EU) 2017/746 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 April 2017 on in vitro diagnostic medical devices and repealing Directive 98/79/EC and Commission Decision 2010/227/EU). With the MDR becoming fully applicable from May 2021 onwards, the European Association of Hospital Pharmacists (EAHP) would like to use this occasion to reiterate some of the considerations raised by hospital pharmacist in EAHP’s Statement on the Medical Device Regulation adopted in 2014 and EAHP’s Opinion on this topic released in 2019. EAHP welcomes the reinforcement of the supervision of notified bodies, the strengthened clinical evaluation and the improved surveillance and vigilance mechanisms introduced by the MDR. In relation to the latter, EAHP would like to express its support for the requirements mandating manufacturers to report serious incidents and corrective actions they have taken to reduce the risk of recurrence. However, given that systems for pharmacovigilance reporting by health professionals in respect of medicines are well established across Europe, EAHP would also like to see further empowerment of healthcare professional and patient reporting, in particular, reporting from hospital pharmacists specifically trained for this task. Ensuring reporting processes for devices and medicines are of a similar …

Late May marked the spring edition of the European Testing Week dedicated to increasing awareness of the benefits of early HIV and hepatitis testing. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) used this opportunity to publish information on the progress towards the elimination of hepatitis B and C in European Union (EU) and European Economic Area (EEA) countries. For the report data was collected from Members States on testing and treatment indicators for the continuum of care concerning hepatitis B and C. Key findings showed that vaccination is a major component of any hepatitis B prevention strategy, that perinatal transmission of HBV is not commonly reported in EU/EEA countries and that the prevalence of chronic hepatitis B virus and chronic hepatitis C virus infections among first-time blood donors is low. Limitations due to data gaps and diversity were noted. Only a few countries had data available regarding linkage to care. About a third of all EU/EEA countries reported no action plan or strategy for hepatitis prevention and control Did you know that hospital pharmacists – which are a member of one of EAHP’s national associations – have free access to the European Journal of Hospital Pharmacy (EJHP)? In case you were not aware of this perk, make sure to visit EAHP’s website (https://www.eahp.eu/) to learn how you can access the EJHP online. The European Public Health Alliance (EPHA) has released its position paper on medicines shortages outlining the severe threats that this problem poses to patient outcomes, patient safety and patient care. The following principal recommendations have been put forward by EPHA to address medicine shortages

Aims and objectives The aim of the 2019 EAHP Medicines Shortages Survey was to collect information on reasons and management strategies for medicines shortages as well as details on their impact on patients. The survey targeted hospital pharmacists (HPs), physicians (PHYs), nurses (NRS) and other healthcare professionals (OHCPs). A separate set of questions addressed patients (PTNs). Methods A 28-question survey was conducted by EAHP, collecting information from European HPs, PTNs, NRS, PHYs and OHCPs on the shortage situation in their respective countries. The survey ran from 7 November 2019 to 13 January 2020. The results were analysed by EAHP. Results There were 2136 HP responses to the 2019 survey compared with 1666 in 2018. While 95% of HPs and 89% of OHCPs consider medicine shortages a current problem, only 71% of PHYs and 62% of NRS state the same. Shortages of active pharmaceutical ingredients (72%), manufacturing (72%) and supply chain problems (49%) are leading causes of shortages according to HPs, while PHYs (40%) and NRS (37%) consider the pricing to be their driver. Antimicrobials and oncology medicines were most affected by shortages in 2019. Compared to 2018, the percentage of respondents who reported shortages of oncology medicines increased from 39% to 47% in 2019. HPs (42%), PHYs (36%) and OHCPs (38%) consider delays in care as the main consequence of medication shortages. The satisfaction with reporting systems for medicine shortages decreased from 56% in 2018 to 48% in 2019 for HPs, while they remain low for PHYs (36%). Conclusions Medicines shortages affect patient care and healthcare professionals’ everyday tasks. Better enforcing of the mandatory early notification of shortages and structured mitigation response is recognised by all respondents as best strategy to tackle shortages.

Over the last weeks and months, a lot has happened in relation to the availability of COVID-19 vaccines. The European Medicines Agency (EMA) issued conditional marketing authorisations and held two public meetings informing about the vaccine processes. To ensure that hospital pharmacists receive all the latest information, EAHP has added a section on COVID-19 vaccines to its COVID-19 Resource Centre which can be accessed via the following link: https://www.eahp.eu/hp-practice/hospital-pharmacy/eahp-covid-19-resource-centre. The information in EAHP’s COVID-19 Resource Centre includes materials prepared by the EMA and for the European Vaccination Information Portal. Hospital pharmacists will be directed to key facts, information on the development, evaluation, approval and monitoring of COVID-19 vaccines and their studies for approval as well as all information that can be made publicly available for conditionally authorised products. The European Commission’s webpage on ‘Safe COVID-19 vaccines for Europeans’ outlines how two billion doses of the vaccine have been secured for the EU, provides information about vaccination and shares advice from experts. In light of the recently approved COVID-19 vaccines, the European Commission has also made available Questions and Answers on COVID-19 vaccination in the EU. To provide accurate, objective, up-to-date evidence on vaccines and vaccination in general, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, the European Medicines Agency and the European Commission created the ‘European Vaccination Information Portal (EVIP)’ earlier this year. This website outlines the mechanisms in place in the European Union to ensure that available vaccines conform to the highest standards of safety and effectiveness. Recently a specific webpage on COVID-19 vaccines was added. The webpage shares information on the activities of the European Commission, COVID-19 vaccines and facts about the pandemic. Concerning the COVID-19 vaccines, details on how they work, are developed and how their safety is monitored are being provided. The European Commission has …