EHMA 2020 Annual Conference | Health Management: realigning systems, context and players

17-19 November 2020 - Online through the lens of Rotterdam, The Netherlands

Overview

EHMA 2020 was the 25th Annual European Conference on Health Management, taking place digitally on 17-19 November 2020. The theme was ‘Health Management: realigning systems, contexts and players’. EHMA organised the conference in collaboration with the Erasmus School of Health Policy & Management, Erasmus Medical Centre, and the Healthcare Organisation of the Dutch Ministry of Defence.

The conference brought together Europe’s health managers to exchange knowledge on innovative practices and excellent healthcare delivery to ensure the health and well-being of Europe’s citizens and communities. The Conference also hosted the third edition of the EHMAthon, an hackathon on the theme ‘How to secure health care delivery during pandemic episodes’ organised in partnership with EIT Health.

Other topics and sessions included:

  • Digital transformation
  • System and organisational governance
  • Integration
  • Personalisation
  • Sustainability
  • Value-based healthcare
  • Health management and COVID-19.

… and much more.

Materials

EHMA 2020 Abstract book

Download File

EHMA 2020 Conference Report

Download File

PLENARY SPEAKERS

Dr. Natasha Azzopardi-Muscat, Director of the Division of Country Health Policies and Systems, WHO Europe

Dr. Natasha Azzopardi-Muscat, Director of the Division of Country Health Policies and Systems, WHO Europe

Dr. Josep Figueras, Director, European Observatory on Health  Systems and Policies, Belgium

Dr. Josep Figueras, Director, European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies, Belgium

Prof. Dr. Mirella Minkman, CEO, Vilans, The Netherlands

Prof. Dr. Mirella Minkman, CEO, Vilans, The Netherlands

Marzena Nelken, Board Member of the European Patients Forum, Poland

Marzena Nelken, Board Member of the European Patients Forum, Poland

Prof. Dr. Kim Putters, Director of the Social and Cultural Planning Office, The Netherlands

Prof. Dr. Kim Putters, Director of the Social and Cultural Planning Office, The Netherlands

Lill Sverresdatter Larsen, President of the Norwegian Nurses Organisation, Norway

Lill Sverresdatter Larsen, President of the Norwegian Nurses Organisation, Norway

Useful Resources

EHMA 2020 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 MMC & EHMA Research Award was awarded to Ludo Glimmerveen, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, for his work on ‘Citizen participation: bargaining over boundaries in the organisation of care services‘ and to Dorijn Hertroijs, Maastricht University, for her work on ‘Built to order: patient profiling to tailor type 2 diabetes care‘. The EHMA Award for best European Paper went to Dr. Mirjam Garvelink for her paper on ‘Why the presentation of outcome information is indispensable in making treatment decisions for Multiple Myeloma‘ and to Simon Dello for the paper ‘Magnet4Europe: A EU-funded cluster-randomized trial of a targeted multifaceted intervention to improve clinical work environments in European Hospitals‘. The best non-European Paper was awarded to ‘Examining health workforce governance through the lens of the profession: A re-analysis of New Zealand’s primary care workforce policy actors‘ by Dr Gareth Rees. And, the best Poster went to Dr Daniele Bellavia for ‘The economic burden of COVID-19 hospital management: results from a pilot study‘. The EHMAthon first prize was awarded to team SOCIALBOX (Hanna Carlsson, Joao Gomes, Miriam Saso, and Matei-Maxim Popescu); the runner-up prize went ex aequo to team rapid repurpose (Dovile Jankunaite, Alberto Tolomelli,  Jayprakash Mistry, and Antoni Serrano-Blanco) and pandeMIX  (Margherita Mauri, Golden Kamage, Sharmi Haque, and Gabor Duray).

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