The International Network of Health Promoting Hospitals and Health Services (HPH Network) was founded to support the implementation of the fifth strategic action area of the Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion (1986) – to “reorient health services”. By that, it was aimed to make health systems more responsive to new health needs in rapidly changing societies by using quality philosophy and methodology, techniques of organizational change management as well as evidence-based procedures.
More than thirty years later the vision of reorientation of health services is even more valid and important. Challenges – such as changing demographics, new disease panoramas, progress in clinical care and an increasing gap between needs and resources – are still relevant and now being increased by growing inequities in health, the ongoing digital transformation, challenging pandemics and a critical responsibility for a sustainable society. Furthermore, by now evidence has been accumulated on effects of health promotion, knowledge on mechanisms explaining how these effects optimize medical interventions, and on their cost effectiveness. However, most health systems are still disease-oriented and governed in ways that focus more on short term economic outcome and not on ethical, sustainable and equitable health gains.
In its Global Strategy for 2021-2025, the HPH Network defined as its vision that hospitals and health services orient their governance models, structures, processes, and culture to optimize the health gains of patients, staff, and populations served as well as to support sustainable societies. To facilitate this reorientation of health services, governance models, reimbursement and outcome monitoring systems need to be changed, too.
The first plenary session with two keynotes will shed light on what health-orientation of health services through management systems means and why governance models should be health-oriented and balance health outcomes, ethical and economic aspects. Answering this complex question will have to take different perspectives into account: health needs in the society, health systems research, health management, the needs and values of stakeholders and populations served, like patients, relatives and staff, and the health promotion vision.
The second plenary session will outline how health orientation of health services can be implemented through management systems by means of standards and models of good practice, by three keynotes.
In its parallel and poster sessions, the conference will provide space for presentations and discussion on a list of topics related to the new 2020 Standards for Health Promoting Hospitals and Health Services and on topics related to the HPH Task Forces and Working Groups.