“Leaders establish the vision for the future and set the strategy for getting there.” John P Kotter

In 2012 it is inevitable that members of the European Association of Hospital Pharmacists (EAHP) will pause for some reflection on the achievements and progress made by the EAHP in its first 40 years. Yet the 40 year milestone is also an opportunity to give thought to the next years—what should be the vision, mission and goals of the EAHP going forward to 2020 and beyond, and what will it mean to be a hospital pharmacist by that time?

With those questions in mind, the EAHP's Board of Directors recently took 2 days out in January to hold a considered discussion on the future and on strategy.

Up for discussion were a broad range of matters including:

• ▶ The definition of what it means to be a hospital pharmacist now and in the future

• ▶ The future role of hospital pharmacist to get the best outcomes for patients

• ▶ The representative role of the EAHP, what this should be comprised of and how it should be enacted

• ▶ The evolution of the EAHP's educational and developmental role

• ▶ The key stakeholders for the Association and …

Correspondence to Richard Price, Policy and Advocacy Officer, European Association of Hospital Pharmacists (EAHP), Rue Abbé Cuypers, 3, B - 1040 Brussels, Belgium; po{at}eahp.eu