From 15 to 17 June, we held the EHMA Annual Conference (#EHMA2022), in collaboration with the Leuven Institute for Healthcare Policy, for the first time in person since 2019. This was also the first time that the conference was held in Belgium. #EHMA2022 brought together 350+ researchers, policymakers, health managers and professionals, thereby discussing the future of European health systems and the role of health managers, and facilitating evidence-based policy refinement and change. In the upcoming weeks, we will be sharing a special issue of our newsletter, bringing you highlights, key messages and takeaways from the conference.
EHMA also participated in the kick-off meeting of the EUVECA (European Platform for Vocational Excellence in Health Care) project. EUVECA will establish seven Regional Vocational Excellence Hubs which will develop, test and offer future-oriented skills for the healthcare sector. This Erasmus+ funded project, through its international networks will bring together Centres of Vocational Excellence that share a common interest in developing skills ecosystems.
Looking ahead to July, we are pleased to announce the start of the BeWell (Blueprint Alliance for a Future Health Workforce Strategy on Digital and Green Skills) project coordinated by EHMA. The BeWell project is an Erasmus+ funded project that aims to form an alliance, to build a movement of all healthcare stakeholders supporting and committed to the development, implementation, and upscaling of the strategy on upskilling and reskilling of the European health workforce.
With these new projects starting, we welcomed to the EHMA team our new Director of Policy and Programme, Ms Anett Ruszanov. Anett directs the development of EHMA’s policy positions and maximises the impact of EU-funded projects for the benefit of the health management ecosystem. As a member of the Senior Management Team, she ensures that the most recent, important and relevant knowledge on health management creates the conditions for high-quality, accessible, value-based and patient-centred care all over Europe. The creation of this post reflects the growth in membership engagement and the impact EHMA is having on decision-making across Europe. Anett brings decades of experience in managing policy and practice for health systems in Europe and will be an important addition to our team.
Parallelly, we are wishing farewell to Ms Laura Cande, who has been our Policy and Projects Consultant for over 2 years. She is moving with her family to Canada where she will continue her career in health management and we wish her every success. She coordinated the work of the Scientific Advisory Committee, the Annual Conference Committee, the Conference Rapporteurs Programme, the project proposals process; as well as projects on vaccine uptake, health management digital skills, workforce education and process improvement.
We wish you a lovely month ahead,
The EHMA Secretariat
Message from our Director of Policy and Programme, Ms Anett Ruszanov
I consider myself really lucky to be appointed as the Director of Policy and Programmes at such a highly recognised and prestigious organisation as EHMA. My role is very challenging and motivating at the same time combining concrete and abstract, visionary activities. It became very clear even before the pandemic that without properly prepared, skilled and informed workforce and organisations, system-level digital transformation cannot happen. Then the COVID crisis came and besides digital transformation further challenges of healthcare became evident and urgent to solve. EHMA plays a crucial role in providing hands-on support, guidance and leadership to the health management ecosystem and I am really proud to contribute to this mission. I am enthusiastic to lead on the very practical project work of the organisation and at a higher level try and influence policy at all levels towards more accessible, person-centred and integrated care with improved outcomes and be part of the team creating a vision and strategy for future healthcare workforce using the knowledge, experience and evidence we gain from projects.
EUVECA project kick-off meeting takes place on 2-3 June in Sønderborg, Denmark
EHMA is a partner in the EUVECA project (EUVECA - European Platform for Vocational Excellence in Health Care) funded under the Erasmus+ programme. The project brings together nineteen partners from eight European countries and is led by The Region of South Denmark. Over the next four years, EUVECA will establish seven Regional Vocational Excellence Hubs which will develop, test and offer future-oriented skills for the healthcare sector. The initiative contributes to the European Skills Agenda focussing on digital and green skills complementing the so-called 21st-century skills such as problem-solving, team-working, analytical and critical thinking. Read about the kick-off meeting here.
COVIRNA hosts a session at the EHMA 2022 Annual Conference
On Friday, 17 June, the COVIRNA project hosted a session at the EHMA 2022 Annual Conference titled ‘The potential of innovative diagnostic tools: personalised disease management for improved health outcomes in COVID-19 patients’. The session looked at the impact and benefits of the adoption of novel diagnostic tools in times of pandemic. In particular, it explored the role of health managers in designing patient-centred care pathways and creating enabling environments for the uptake of innovative tools such as COVIRNA. The session also discussed how patient-centred care and personalised medicine can improve health outcomes and enhance patients’ quality of life. You can read the session report here.
Earlier this year, the COVIRNA project was featured at several European events on cardiovascular medicine, where it was represented by the Project Coordinator, Dr Yvan Devaux. Read about it here.
EcoQUIP+ project featured at the EHMA 2022 Annual Conference
The EcoQUIP+ project participated in EHMA 2022 with a poster ‘Towards zero waste: environmentally sustainable waste management solutions for hospitals – An innovative procurement approach’ authored and presented by Mr Joaquim Duarte, Senior Sustainable Waste Manager at the University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust (UHBW). The poster outlines the procurement strategy of the EcoQUIP+ innovation project which aims at delivering environmentally sustainable waste management services and solutions that address both the urgent need to minimise waste arising and enable a transition to circular waste management. You can read more about it here.
Innovation procurement University Hospital of Bologna, Policlinico Sant'Orsola launches market sounding to find solutions to transform the out-patient journey
The University Hospital of Bologna, Policlinico Sant'Orsola, Italy is working on a procurement project which aims to:
improve the overall experience for the patient;
support the clinical process and patient outcomes;
improve the overall economic efficiency of the system.
A face-to-face/virtual/hybrid market consultation event, depending on the pandemic situation, will take place on 29 September 2022.
You can read about the EcoQUIP+ innovation projects here.
In focus REBECCA mobile application
The mobile app is a central Real-World Data collection tool of the REBECCA project. The app will collect patients' data on eating and sleeping habits, environmental stressors, and the location and timeline of how the patient moves in the local environment. The data collected will be used to create privacy-preserving indicators associated with the patient's emotional and functional status.
In a guest blog post for the REBECCA website, Dr Ioannis Sarafis, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki - REBECCA project leader, describes the features of the REBECCA mobile app and how the project has ensured the protection of data collected via the app.
The representatives of the Breast Cancer Society Amazona have also developed a blog post to share how breast cancer patients were involved in the development of the app and why patient engagement matters.
Publication Novel Insights in Spatial Epidemiology Utilizing Explainable AI (XAI) and Remote Sensing
The paper proposes the fusion of a heterogeneous, spatio-temporal dataset that combine data from eight European cities spanning from 1 January 2020 to 31 December 2021 and describe atmospheric, socio-economic, health, mobility and environmental factors all related to potential links with COVID-19. You can download the publication here.
European Commission Registration opens for the 2023 EU4Health Stakeholders' Event
The event will take place online on 8 July from 10:00 to 17:00 CET. The event is the opportunity to discuss the outcomes of the consultation and provide inputs for reflection on priorities, strategic orientations and needs for the 2023 EU4Health Annual Work Programme. You can view the agenda and information on registration here.
Healthier Together: the Commissions launches €156 million initiative on non-communicable diseases in Europe
This Initiative identifies effective actions and the available legal and financial supporting tools across five main areas: cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, chronic respiratory diseases, mental health and neurological disorders, as well as their main contributing factors. Learn more about the initiative here.
European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies Publication Everything you always wanted to know about European Union health policies but were afraid to ask
The publication provides a broad and up-to-date review and analysis of European Union public health policies. It begins by explaining the basic politics of European integration and European policy-making in health, including the basic question of how the European Union (EU) came to have a health policy and what that policy does. Thereafter, it moves on to the three faces of European Union health policy: health policy, internal market building policies and fiscal governance. You can download the publication here.
European Forum for Primary Care Register for the EFPC 2022 Annual Conference
Pre-conference starts on Sunday, 25 September and is followed by the main conference from Monday, 26 September until Tuesday 27 September. The conference is taking place in Ghent, Belgium under the theme 'Integrated Community Care: a new opportunity for Primary Care'. To learn more, please visit the EFPC website.
Join EHMA membership! We welcome applications from organisations and individuals. For more information on member benefits and how to become a member, visit our website or email us.
Follow us on social media!
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or HADEA. Neither the European Union nor HADEA can be held responsible for them.
