The European Association of Hospital Pharmacists (EAHP), an association of national organisations across 34 countries representing hospital pharmacists at European and international levels, has recently completed a tour of China to promote practice developments in European hospital pharmacy and develop its relations with organisations in China.

EAHP president Dr Roberto Frontini, Professor Anthony Sinclair of the EAHP Scientific Committee, and Professor Phil Wiffen, editor-in-chief of the European Journal of Hospital Pharmacy (EJHP) spent 6 days in July visiting hospitals across China, including Beijing and Shanghai. As well as sharing experiences in practice development from Europe, the EAHP trio also had an opportunity to learn from China’s experience in meeting the needs of patient care and patient safety in the hospital environment.

Dr Roberto Frontini, president of the European Association of Hospital Pharmacists, said: “It was an honour to speak to professional colleagues in China about hospital pharmacy in Europe. The exchange is of great value to both parties, and grows an exciting relationship. EAHP regularly hosts delegations from China at our Congress, and it was personally illuminating to learn more about how common challenges such as patient safety are being met in another part of the world. Not only is it important that EAHP’s member countries share their good practices with one another, but EAHP also has a responsibility to facilitate broader international exchange on practice improvement. I look forward to welcoming colleagues from China to our Congress in Hamburg next year, and to renew our rich dialogue.”

Professor Anthony Sinclair of the EAHP Scientific Committee, said: “The EAHP Scientific Committee brings together hospital pharmacy practice leaders from across a wide range of European health systems with a shared mission of delivering excellence in education and patient care. It’s encouraging to know that the work of EAHP is recognised globally and that our work in Europe has application across the world. It was an honour to have been asked to participate on this tour representing EAHP, to share good practice, to learn from colleagues in China and have the opportunity to develop friendships that I hope will grow. It was exciting to share ideas across the globe! I was particularly impressed with our Chinese hospital colleagues' clever application of technology and process design to manage large volumes of prescriptions.”

Professor Phil Wiffen, editor-in-chief of the European Journal of Hospital Pharmacy (EJHP) added: “Year on year the international reach of the EJHP grows, and colleagues in China are looking to publish their research in  a leading pharmacy journal such as EJHP. As I reminded participants on our visit, the Journal always welcomes manuscripts from outside Europe indeed, these are often of significant interest to our readers. A modern day Journal is designed to provide just that kind of outreach and international communication.”