Quality Standards

In order to keep the work of EAN as well as the EAN offices as efficient as possible and provide our members with excellent services, we have implemented several quality standards. 

 

The Quality Policy of EAN Admin

Our attitude and the quality of our thinking are the source of the quality of EAN ADMIN’s services. Always striving for accomplishing the aims and purpose of EAN, we arrive at the following maxims:
•    Orientation towards the needs of members and customers 
•    Quality in everything we do
•    Obligation to keep up legal certainty
•    Checking the services of our contractual partners and sub-contractors according to the contractual requirements
•    Continuous improvement of all processes
•    Teamwork to achieve our goals

For us, quality means:
•    that our services meet the requirements
•    that quality can only be achieved if all required activities are performed with the appropriate care 
•    that all legal stipulations and guidelines are adhered to

Quality is relevant for each and every EAN employee:
Quality knows no hierarchy. Everybody is part of the quality process on their level at the workplace.
It is the responsibility of every individual employee.

ISO 9001 Certification

In February 2016 the EAN Admin’s new Quality Management System (QMS) reviewed by an external auditor from Quality Austria. We are very pleased to announce that after this successful audit our QMS is one of the first to be certified according to the new norm EN ISO 9001:2015, the world’s leading QMS standard

Quality Assurance of EAN Congresses

EAN has strict quality criteria: 

  • ISO 9001:2015 certification
  • Standard operating procedures and a policy manual
  • Each officer involved in EAN activities fills in a register of interest form which is published on the website
  • EAN congresses apply with the criteria of e4ethics
  • Providing information on funding sources of the organisation

EAN is organising its events completely in-house to ensure a direct contact with all speakers, participants and industry, to guarantee maximal transparency.

Any activities in parallel to scientific or educational sessions are prohibited. This does also include events in the industry exhibition.

EAN Board, Congress Programme committee and Teaching course sub-committee, who are in charge of the organisation of the congress are not allowed to speak at industry events during the congress.

Faculty as well as abstract submitters must provide a conflict of interest statement upon submission as well as on their presentations.

Evaluation of speakers and sessions: all lectures are evaluated, incl. a question on industry-bias. The Ethics and Quality task force  is reviewing the evaluations and providing feedback to the planning committee as well as individual feedback to all speakers.

Sessions organised by the industry must have an educational character and not include any product names.
Sessions organised by industry must be submitted to the congress programme committee for review and approval.
Detailed criteria for industry can be found here: EAN Congress 2022 Rules and Regulations.

Any advertisements distributed by industry must be provided to EAN for review in advance.

For each agreement with sponsors (industry or other organisations), contracts are signed that clearly outline the rights and responsibilities of each partner.

EAN is striving to have for all activities two or more sponsors / grant giver.
 

The Register of Interests

The EAN provides information on its officers and their commitments outside the EAN in the Register of Interests in order to keep our work transparent and to fulfil our obligation to keep a proper record of possible conflicts.

If you have any questions, please contact us at headoffice(at)ean.org

 

Code of Conduct

Objectivity and transparency are critical to medical professional organisations like EAN carrying out their respective missions. With these prerequisites in mind a Code of Conduct has been developed under the umbrella of the Alliance for Biomedical Research in Europe. EAN has contributed to the development of these guidelines and fully endorses them. While they may need adaptation to specific settings, they are an important agreement on common ethical values and will form an important basis to our work.