TY - JOUR T1 - The European Statements of Hospital Pharmacy JF - European Journal of Hospital Pharmacy JO - Eur J Hosp Pharm SP - 256 LP - 258 DO - 10.1136/ejhpharm-2014-000526 VL - 21 IS - 5 A2 - , Y1 - 2014/10/01 UR - http://ejhp.bmj.com/content/21/5/256.abstract N2 - The European Statements of Hospital Pharmacy of the European Association of Hospital Pharmacists (EAHP) are provided in the following pages. The statements express commonly agreed objectives which every European health system should aim for in the delivery of hospital pharmacy services. The statements were formulated following an 18-month review process, which included two rounds of online Delphi consultation with EAHP's 34 member country associations and 34 patient and healthcare professional organisations. Final agreement on the statements’ wording and scope was reached at the European Summit on Hospital Pharmacy in Brussels, May 2014. The statements were subject to weighted voting by EAHP member country associations (50%), European patient organisations (25%) and associations representing doctors and nurses at the European level (25%). A high level of 85% agreement or above was required for each statement to be confirmed. Throughout the statements, where the term medicines is used, medical devices are also included for countries in which hospital pharmacists have responsibility for this area. All the statements were agreed with the intention of improving the safety of patients. EAHP and its national member associations now look forward to working with national health systems to bring about full implementation of the European Statements of Hospital Pharmacy in all European countries. 1.1 The overarching goal of the hospital pharmacy service is to optimise patient outcomes through working collaboratively within multidisciplinary teams in order to achieve the responsible use of medicines across all settings. 1.2 At a European level, ‘Good Hospital Pharmacy Practice’ guidelines based on the best available evidence should be developed and implemented. These guidelines will include corresponding human resources and training requirements and assist national efforts to define recognised standards across the scope and levels of hospital pharmacy services. 1.3 Health systems have limited resources and these should be used responsibly to optimise outcomes for patients. … ER -