Andrea Schweiger, Guido Offermanns and Alexandra Kratki from the Institute of Management (Organizational Behavior & Human Resource Management) presented three conference papers and one poster at the European Health Management Association (EHMA) Conference 2026 in Barcelona

From 10 to 12 June 2026, the European Health Management Association (EHMA) Conference took place at IESE Business School in Barcelona, Spain. Under the theme “Future-proofing Health Systems for a Changing World: From Strategy to Action,” international experts discussed current challenges and future perspectives for European healthcare systems.

In the first presentation, “Performance indicators in breast cancer multidisciplinary team meetings in Austria: A comparative study,” Andrea Schweiger, Guido Offermanns, and Alexandra Kratki examined the performance of multidisciplinary breast cancer tumour boards. The findings identify concrete opportunities to improve interdisciplinary decision-making processes in tumour boards and contribute to the sustainable enhancement of quality of care in oncology. Furthermore, the study highlights the potential of a newly developed self-assessment instrument to support the continuous improvement of healthcare quality.

The authors also presented a poster entitled “Performance of multidisciplinary tumour boards in a university and a maximum care hospital in Austria: A comparative self-assessment study.” The results indicate generally positive evaluations of tumour board performance while also revealing differences in decision-making processes and role structures across different hospital settings.

The second presentation, “From contractual governance to organizational transformation: Strategic performance monitoring in academic healthcare in Austria,” by Guido Offermanns and Andrea Schweiger focused on governance mechanisms in academic healthcare. The study demonstrates how strategic target agreements can be supported through a performance monitoring system that transparently captures both qualitative and quantitative progress in implementation. From a scientific perspective, the research contributes to advancing knowledge on the implementation of strategic organizational objectives in healthcare institutions.

The third presentation, “Improving maternal care through communication: Insights on satisfaction and perceived safety,” by Andrea Schweiger, Alexandra Kratki, and Christina Kulle addressed the role of communication in maternity care. The findings demonstrate that empathetic communication, transparent information, and the active involvement of patients are key determinants of women’s perceived safety and satisfaction during childbirth, thereby representing essential prerequisites for high-quality maternal care.

For further information about the presentations, please contact Andrea Schweiger (Andrea [dot] Schweiger [at] aau [dot] at), Guido Offermanns (Guido [dot] Offermanns [at] aau [dot] at) or Alexandra Kratki (Alexandra [dot] Kratki [at] aau [dot] at).