On the occasion of its 40th anniversary, the European Association of Hospital Pharmacists (EAHP) recently recorded the highest number of attendees at its annual Congress so far. In total, 3700 conference participants registered and attended over the 3-day event in Milan between 21 and 23 March, listening to keynote speeches, taking part in seminars, and enjoying associated sponsor events.

The theme of the Congress was ‘Special patient groups—hospital pharmacists creating standards for care’ with the three keynote speakers addressing the topics of: limits of treatment; the management of risk and life safety; and drug safety in geriatric patients.

On Wednesday 21 March, Professor Umberto Veronesi, the internationally recognised Italian surgeon and oncologist, opened the Congress with an address on the modern advances being made in many areas of treatment, such as stem cell research, the move towards multidisciplinary models of health provision, and nanotechnology. He then outlined some of the many potential future roles of pharmacists in palliative care, pain management and the use of opiods, clinical trials and clinical decision-making.

On Thursday 22 March Professor Michael Faber of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich gave a …