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EHMA 2018 Annual Conference | Making it happen
20-22 June 2018 - Budapest, Hungary
Overview
The EHMA 2018 Annual Conference ‘Making it Happen‘ took place on 20-22 June at Semmelweis University in Hungary. Health Services Management Training Centre (EMK) played host to the event.
More than 400 delegates came together from across Europe to learn, debate and discuss matters relating to improving the health of communities and citizens. A total of twelve parallel abstract sessions, twelve interactive ‘in conversation’ sessions, six partner sessions, two keynote presentations and a vibrant Health Lab exhibition were available to delegates.
Starting on a pre-conference day with the EHMA Summer Workshop on ‘Reconfiguring modern hospitals‘ and the EHMAthon – a brainstorming activity gathering 35 young creative minds to address the issue of ‘How might we improve healthcare in remote and underdeveloped areas in Europe by leveraging technology and digital solutions?‘ – we then hosted several partner sessions that included topics ranging from military healthcare to the prevention of cardiovascular disease. EHMA was also proud to have hosted a high-level World Health Organization event attended by leaders in digital innovation from across 15 countries.
Other topics and sessions included:
- Parallel thinking around good governance/improvement science/health and social care/patient-focused hospitals of the future
- Leading change into the future
- People-centred health systems for the 21st century: Include, invest, innovate
- Integrated care
… and much more.
KEYNOTE SPEAKERS

Dr Helen Bevan, Chief Transformation Officer, NHS Horizons

Dr Hans Kluge, Director, Division of Health Systems and Public Health, WHO European Region
EHMA 2018 Awards
EHMA is proud to support awards for academic excellence including the Karolinska Medical Management Centre & EHMA Research Award, and awards for Best Poster, Best European Paper, and Best non-European paper.
The Karolinska & EHMA Research Award went to Mrs Marjolein Herps, Maastricht University, The Netherlands for her work ‘Real lives on paper plans. Individual support planning for people with intellectual disabilities’. The Best Poster award was given to Ms Erika Sinka Lászlóné Adamik, Semmelweis University Health Services Management Training Centre Patient Safety Unit, Hungary for her work on ‘Learning from mistakes – a useful tool for supporting management in order to improve safety culture’. The Best European Paper award went to Dr Matthias Wismar, European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies, Belgium for his work on ‘Making skill-mix innovations in primary and chronic care happen! Trends and policy options’. The Best non-European Paper award went to Dr. Jerome Dugan, Drexel University, USA for ‘The Differential Impacts of Tax Deduction Status on Chronic Disease Morbidity’.
The EHMAthon competition was awarded to TEAM AWESOME (Daniel Adenisimi, Éva Dóró, Carlo Frassetto, Ionut Poeana, and Nancy Bolous), while second place went to TEAM STORK (Beata Szász, Audrey Gillies, Holly Tibble, Árpád Veress, Moritz Matschke).
#EHMA2018
EHMA 2018 saw plenty of activity on Twitter where our participants shared their views on how to ‘Making it Happen’. With over 410 tweets in three days, around 400 visualisations for our live streamed Periscope videos, and more than 130k impressions on Twitter, #EHMA2018 reached a massive social media audience, allowing the Conference to be trending topic in Belgium on 21 June.
What our Members say
I have been active in EHMA since the first years of the '90s and I have seen its evolution from a small association of members interested in sharing knowledge on health management practices to the current status of reference and advisory key player for EU, health systems and organisations, stakeholders associations, industry and universities. EHMA is now a unique knowledge hub, policy advisor, community of practice and network of best in class organisations involved in health policy and management. A place where health managers can build their competences, policy-makers and stakeholder associations envision how to implement and sustain change through health management, industry leaders understand how to engage more effectively with health organisations and systems. The right place to nurture and grow health management capabilities and capacity for every stakeholder of health systems.
Prof. Federico Lega, University of Milan, Italy
Health management has a crucial function in shaping public health and health system challenges. The Medical University of Varna, Bulgaria had success in collaborating with EHMA on EU-funded projects that has resourced us to create new health management competencies for the future workforce. In addition to all classical definitions, health management is a science dealing with individuals, groups, and society at large. It is an art contributing to the beauty of our lives and an interactive communication process at all levels of institutions and human energy. I have also had the pleasure to chair the South Eastern European Special Interest Group which gives members a space to discuss and tools to address how health systems are managed in our regions.
Prof. Todorka Kostadinova, Medical University of Varna, Bulgaria
I enjoy the high level of interaction and engagement in EHMA’s activities, in particular during the annual conference where the panel discussions are rich and well prepared. As a hospital manager and professor of health management, EHMA motivates and inspires me to be creative. You go back home feeling energised from seeing old friends and making new connections, as well as being convinced of serving as EHMA’s ambassador. It’s a strong feeling of interdisciplinary engagement, but it also feels like being part of family-like community.
Prof. Sandra C. Buttigieg, University of Malta, Malta
EHMA is a pre-eminent organisation for everyone working in planning, managing and delivering health services across Europe. As a long standing member of EHMA I have always been impressed by the vibrant community of managers, researchers and academics it has created and by the many opportunities for sharing knowledge and funding opportunities it has brought to its members. Its international scope is impressive and its impact is often felt in management and research across European and national health systems.
Prof. Axel Kaehne, Edge Hill University, UK
Health workforce has become more essential in operating, managing and maintaining health systems lately, particularly in crisis and emergency situations. European healthcare professions and the workforce need to be high on the agenda of managers and decision makers. The Health Services Management Training Centre, Semmelweis University in Hungary is a longstanding EHMA member, because it connects us with collaborators and experts, with whom we can have complex debates, from whom we can learn and at the end find solutions in various challenging fields of healthcare management.
Dr Eszter Kovács, Health Services Management Training Centre, Semmelweis University, Hungary
As a hospital administrator and health management professor, I see on a daily basis that the healthcare challenges require talented and skilled managers to transform it. the EHMA membership has been beneficial to bring healthcare management research and education to the demanding healthcare services world, promoting healthcare management competencies and knowledge creation.
Dr Alexandre Lourenco, APAH - Association of Portuguese Hospital Managers, Portugal
Many healthcare systems in Europe and beyond are facing similar challenges which require innovative and creative solutions. EHMA’s annual conference, webinars, Programme Directors’ group and other activities and resources provide incredible opportunities for networking, connecting and sharing experiences. A distinct feature of EHMA is the diversity of members with representation from many countries, sectors and different communities of practice – academic, policy-makers, practitioners, managers, leaders and students. The annual conference is a highlight in the calendar year, offering a friendly, fun and learningful environment for emerging and established members to engage, collaborate and meet up with old and new friends. I am proud to be a member of the EHMA Board.
Prof. Ann Mahon, University of Manchester, UK
Society evolution, pandemics and ageing modify health needs. So, health policies and services are to change dramatically. EHMA, through webinars, workshops and annual conference provides an excellent insight to a professional changing world, favouring closeness to management innovation and the protagonists of these changes. As a primary care services’ manager, participating in EHMA activities is really worth it and allows to involve oneself in the innovation processes.
Dr Antoni Peris Grao, Consorci Castelldefels Agents de Salut (CASAP), Spain