About EACH – EACH

What EACH does?

EACH develops, promotes and teaches effective healthcare communication worldwide via:

An active global network of researchers, teachers and practitioners,committed to improving the patient experience.
Research and Teaching to improve healthcare communication and the health outcomes of the general public.
Striving to impact on policy makers and non-academic stakeholders in order for effective healthcare communication to be integrated in the system of healthcare delivery everywhere
Knowledge exchange to enable the dissemination of teaching and research products within the healthcare community.
Best practice sharing to actively demonstrate the changing needs of health delivery and a person-centred approach.

How EACH does it?

EACH members share their expertise in healthcare communication with each other and the broader community through many ongoing opportunities including:

Annual International conferences on health care communication bringing together the community of researchers, educators, practitioners and policy makers.
Workshops and courses focusing on best practices in healthcare communication research and education.
Active online and in-person networks of learners and professionals, based on common countries, languages or interests.
A database of shared resources and tools developed and/or curated from key experts in the field, available exclusively to members.
Direct affiliations with Patient Education and Counseling, the top journal dedicated to scholarship in healthcare communication.
Promotion of best practices through collaboration with national and international organizations and networks with similar aims.

Some activities generate income for EACH, which is reinvested into other activities for the benefit of our community. In addition, donations and contributions in kind help to ensure that we continue to develop and support improvements in healthcare communication internationally.

Why EACH matters

Ample evidence demonstrates that effective communication is essential to high quality clinical practice and leads to:

Individualized care that respects patient autonomy
Safer and more effective healthcare
Improved disease outcomes
Most satisfied and autonomous patients
More efficient services
More cost effective care

Evidence also demonstrates that more effective healthcare communication can be:

Taught to every health care provider
Implemented in daily practice

However, over 30 years of healthcare communication research has also shown that there are persistent problems in healthcare communication that negatively impact patients, families and providers. Patients and families frequently feel that they are not supported, listened to or understood; they are not being involved as partners in their medical decisions.

In response to this, EACH supports active development of new, more effective ways of communicating in healthcare in order to create a more equal, empowered and productive relationship between all parties.

Where EACH started

EACH was officially founded as a European organisation in September 2001 by Prof.dr. Jozien Bensing and Prof.dr. Sandra van Dulmen from NIVEL (Netherlands Institute for Health Services Research) in collaboration with researchers, medical educators and practitioners from eight European countries.

Its aim was to establish a multidisciplinary community for people active in communication research and training. It was publicly launched as a not-for-profit organisation and transformed into a charity in 2014, which it remains to this day.

Past Presidents of EACH

2020-2022 Marcy Rosenbaum

2018-2020 Sara Rubinelli

2016-2018 Evelyn van Weel-Baumgarten

2014-2016 Jonathan Silverman

2012-2014 Myriam Deveugele

2010-2012 Peter Salmon

2006-2010 Wolf Langewitz

2004-2006 Arnstein Finset

2001-2004 Jozien Bensing