The European Association of Hospital Pharmacists (EAHP)'s Annual Congress is the largest congress for hospital pharmacy in Europe and this year saw a record number of 3700 delegates from 57 countries attending the 3-day event in Milan. The theme of the Congress was ‘Special patient groups – hospital pharmacists creating standards for care’, and a full and varied programme of events allowed delegates to be able to listen to keynote speeches, take part in seminars and workshops and attend associated sponsor events.

This year also marks the EAHP's 40th anniversary and, speaking at the opening ceremony on 21 March, Dr Roberto Frontini, President of the EAHP, told delegates that looking back at the association over the past 40 years made him aware of the barriers that the founders of the EAHP and its first president Marcel Lebas had to overcome. ‘In the context of a not yet global world, without internet and emails, in a world split by the Iron Curtain and big language barriers, at that time Europe was only beginning to emerge into what it has become today; the association was merely a shoot of the strong and healthy tree we see today’, said Dr Frontini.

He told delegates that another point of interest in the EAHP's history was the realisation in the very beginning that the special setting of a hospital required a specialisation in hospital pharmacy. The EAHP had for many years pursued an objective of having hospital pharmacy recognised as a professional specialisation across Europe. ‘The Board, together with our new Policy Officer, Richard Price, have developed new strategies and I will put all my energy into achieving this goal’, said Dr Frontini. ‘We are healthcare professionals dedicated to patients like physicians are, and the safety of patients can only be achieved …