EAHM Congress in Vilnius highlights leadership as a driver of people-centred healthcare systems
Effective leadership was at the centre of the 29th EAHM Congress in Vilnius, bringing together the European hospital management community to discuss resilience, sustainability, workforce, innovation and people-centred healthcare.
Vilnius, Lithuania | 3–5 June 2026
The 29th EAHM Congress brought together hospital managers, healthcare leaders, policymakers, experts and partner organisations from across Europe for three days of exchange, reflection and strategic discussion on the future of healthcare leadership.
Held in Vilnius under the theme “Effective Leadership in Healthcare Organizations”, the Congress provided an important platform to discuss how hospital management can respond to some of the most pressing challenges facing European health systems: workforce shortages, financial sustainability, digital transformation, innovation, patient-centred care, resilience and the need for stronger international cooperation.
The event confirmed the central role of hospital managers in translating policy into practice, connecting strategy with operations, and ensuring that healthcare organisations remain sustainable, adaptive and focused on people.
A successful European meeting point for hospital leadership
The Congress created a strong moment of connection for the EAHM community and for national hospital management associations across Europe. Throughout the programme, participants exchanged experiences from different healthcare systems, shared practical examples from hospital organisations, and discussed how leadership must evolve in a context of increasing complexity.
Vilnius offered a particularly meaningful setting for this exchange. The Congress combined high-level strategic reflection with practical examples from hospitals, national systems and European initiatives, reinforcing EAHM’s role as a platform for knowledge-sharing, professional development and policy dialogue.
Main themes emerging from the Congress
Leadership as a strategic capability
Speakers underlined that effective leadership is no longer only an organisational function. It is a strategic capability for health systems. Hospital managers are increasingly expected to support transformation, strengthen cooperation across care settings, improve patient experience, manage complexity and create conditions for professional engagement.
Leadership was presented as a bridge between policy ambition and operational reality. In this sense, hospital managers have a crucial role in ensuring that reforms, innovation and new models of care are implemented in ways that are sustainable, inclusive and measurable.
Leadership
Connecting policy, governance, people and operations.
Workforce
Supporting skills, retention, wellbeing and organisational resilience.
Innovation
Turning digital transformation into measurable value.
Cooperation
Strengthening European exchange between hospital managers.
Workforce, skills and organisational resilience
The workforce challenge was a central topic throughout the Congress. Participants discussed shortages, burnout, retention, skills development and the need to make healthcare organisations better places to work.
The message was clear: the future of healthcare depends not only on recruiting more professionals, but also on creating organisational cultures that support purpose, autonomy, learning, teamwork and wellbeing. Leadership, workforce planning and management capacity must therefore be seen as core components of health system resilience.
Workforce, leadership and organisational resilience were among the central themes discussed in Vilnius.Digital health, AI and intelligent healthcare systems
Digital transformation was one of the most visible themes of the Congress. Sessions explored artificial intelligence, interoperability, procurement, cybersecurity, European digital health infrastructure and the future role of data in healthcare management.
The discussions highlighted that digital health must be understood as more than technology adoption. It requires governance, trust, organisational readiness, professional skills and alignment with patient-centred care. Hospital managers must be able to assess digital solutions, support implementation, manage risks and ensure that innovation creates real value for patients, professionals and health systems.
Innovation, procurement and interoperability
The Congress also reinforced the importance of smarter procurement and stronger interoperability across Europe. Innovation cannot remain fragmented or dependent only on isolated projects. It must be supported by common standards, collaborative learning and procurement models that help healthcare organisations adopt solutions safely and effectively.
This is especially relevant in the context of the European Health Data Space and wider European efforts to strengthen digital health systems. Hospital managers have a key role in ensuring that these policy developments are translated into practical implementation at organisational level.
Digital transformation, interoperability, procurement and AI governance were strongly represented in the Congress programme.Sustainability, prevention and patient-centred care
Another strong message was the need to align hospital management with broader system sustainability. Participants discussed financial pressures, demand growth, prevention, patient pathways and new models of care.
The Congress highlighted that healthcare organisations must move beyond reactive management. Hospitals and health systems need to strengthen prevention, improve coordination, reduce unnecessary complexity and use data to support better decisions. Patient-centred care should be understood not only as a clinical principle, but also as a management and governance priority.
European health policy messages from Vilnius
- Hospital leadership must be recognised as a driver of health system transformation.
- Europe must invest in workforce skills and leadership development.
- Digital transformation must be guided by purpose, governance and interoperability.
- Financial sustainability and quality must be addressed together.
- European cooperation remains essential to address shared healthcare challenges.
Strengthening EAHM’s role
The 29th EAHM Congress also marked an important moment for the Association itself. Alongside the Congress programme, EAHM’s governance bodies met in Vilnius, reinforcing member engagement, institutional continuity and preparation for the Association’s next strategic phase.
The Congress demonstrated the value of EAHM as a European platform for hospital managers and national associations. It showed that hospital leadership has a clear contribution to make to European health policy and that the experience of healthcare managers must be part of future discussions on resilience, innovation, workforce and sustainability.
Looking ahead
The discussions in Vilnius will continue to inform EAHM’s work in the coming months, including the preparation of the next strategic cycle of the Association.
The Congress confirmed that effective leadership is not an abstract concept. It is built every day through decisions, teams, systems, partnerships and the ability to turn complexity into action.
EAHM thanks the Association of Hospital Managers Physicians of Lithuania, the organisers, partners, speakers, moderators and participants who contributed to making the 29th EAHM Congress in Vilnius a successful and inspiring moment for the European hospital management community.