Dear Colleagues,

We are honoured to invite you to The International Health and Hospital Management Congress which we will hold for the fourteenth time this year.

There have always been natural phenomena on Earth. Natural disasters continue to increase at a rate parallel to that of people disrupting the natural balance. Disaster is a natural, technological, or human-caused event that causes physical, economic, social, and environmental losses for people. It stops or interrupts normal life and human activities and affects the communities which cannot deal with it by using local means and resources. Earthquakes, floods, landslides, avalanches, droughts, and other disasters negatively affect human life. For this reason, extraordinary situations have arisen in the world as a result of natural disasters such as earthquakes, floods, tornadoes, hurricanes, and related human movements in recent years. The common point of the destructions caused by these extraordinary events is that they primarily threaten human life and health and cause social and economic losses. Unfortunately, a significant part of Türkiye's territory is in an active earthquake zone. Our country is divided into five-degree earthquake zones, which are considered high-hazard zones by the science of earthquake. Approximately 45% of our population lives in the region considered to have the highest earthquake risk. The wounds of the 6 February Earthquakes in the Southeast Anatolia, which we define as the disaster of the century, are still open and fresh. In these extremely severe earthquakes, we lost at least 60,000 of our people and 15 million people have been affected. More than 150 thousand people were injured, thousands of disabled people were left helpless by these earthquakes… Cities, thousands of buildings and lives were destroyed.

Due to the threat to human health, a new concept and health study area related to extraordinary situations has emerged under the name of "Disaster Medicine". The most effective way to be safe from the effects of disasters is to be prepared and equipped as a society. Institutions and organizations that will take part in disaster response must have an effective disaster plan. Disaster planning should be implemented in a way that it includes every unit from local settlements to general public organizations, from civil foundations and organizations to state institutions and it should function efficiently. Disaster plans that will be implemented in the field of health will minimize the loss and injury of people during and after the event. Disasters such as earthquakes, great fires, floods, wars, and mass accidents can be overcome with lesser loss only if prepared and planned in advance.

Destructive earthquakes bring with them an important health problem. In our country, a generally accepted model plan, which can meet the needs of health organizations in major disasters, and includes the risks that hospitals may experience, has not been fully developed even though it has undergone so-called revisions every year. In spite of the fact that disasters are incredibly crucial situations that directly concern health institutions and hospitals in this sense.

Nevertheless, the recent earthquake has shown us that all of the development efforts we have taken in our health institutions such as plannings, drills, and institutions related to disaster management, which we assume to be strengthened, are only on paper.

Therefore, effective disaster management is a must, which starts with the occurrence of an event and aims to meet all the needs of the affected communities in a timely, rapid, and effective manner, and ends when the reasons necessitating the emergency disappear. It covers the intervention and short-term recovery activities of disaster management. Effective emergency management requires being planned, prepared, and coordinated. Its difference from ordinary management is the use of extraordinary means, resources, and power. In this context, the main theme of this year's congress will be "Health Management in Disasters, Its Effect on Clinical Practices and Its Costs for the Health Sector".

Our congress will take place between the dates of 01-04 November 2023 in Antalya. We think that this year's congress, to which we expect many participants from Turkey and different countries, will be more intense and productive than our previous congresses in the light of many presentations, discussions, and the latest information.

Emergency and Disaster Management in Health Services means using health personnel and technology effectively and cost-effectively. For this reason, healthcare managers have to;

1- Manage their institutions effectively in medical, administrative and financial terms in a way to ensure the safety of patients and their relatives in disasters and emergencies and to meet their needs,

2-Cooperate with health-related stakeholders in order to ensure the delivery of quality and safe health services in emergencies and disasters,

3- Be able to discuss the importance of disaster and emergency planning and management with community leaders and all stakeholders, especially in emergency and disaster situations, to provide crisis management in any crisis and to convey the right health-related emergency information to the public in a timely manner.

Thus, effective emergency and disaster management should be on the agenda of health services and hospital management in the coming years, considering the possible Istanbul earthquake. In order to minimize the damages that may be caused by disasters, special attention must be paid to pre-disaster planning and studies which aim to create a disaster culture and disaster management system at all stages in society in order to create awareness. The main purposes of management in disasters are protection from disasters, being prepared and mitigation. The Disaster Management System implemented in our country should be aimed at achieving a modern, integrated, community-based understanding that unites all resources under one power, sees disaster management as a whole, and ensures the participation of the public, non-governmental organizations and volunteers at all stages.

As it does every year, our congress will endeavour to create a platform where the restructuring in health services, the methods, requirements and innovations that will improve quality and ensure patient safety in keeping up with the innovations that arise with the rapid change of technology in management and service will be discussed this year, as well as the main theme. On top of that, this congress will provide the participants with the opportunity to discuss the necessary experience and practices in order to provide safer, more efficient and effective health services. Thus, during the Congress, you will have the opportunity to discuss the basic approaches to ensure patient and employee safety in healthcare services and to test new systems and ideas that transcend traditional boundaries, in line with the perspectives of service providers and service recipients.

During the congress, it is planned to focus on also the following issues related to the subject:

Crisis and Disaster Managemet in Health

Leadership in Healthcare Services

Changing Roles in Healthcare Services Management

Mega Trends in Healthcare Management

New Generation Healthcare Organizations - Twenty-First Century Architecture

Evidence Based, Inovation and Patient Oriented Hospitals

Remodelling in Healthcare Serivces, Change Management and The Role of Leadership

Evidence Based Management

Technological Improvements in Health

Financial Management in Health Establishments

Developing Health Programs and Project Management

How Should Contemporary Hsopital Management Be?

Marketing and Branding in Healthcare

Strategic Management and Strategic Leadership in Health Institutions

Human Resources Management

Health Policies

Health Legislation and Ethics

Information Systems in Health (Informatics in Health)

Health Economy

Evaluation Methods in Health Management

Human Relations in Health

Health and Social Security Systems, Health Insurance

Communication in Health

Education in Healthcare Services

Health Promotion and Health Education

The Importance of Lifelong Education in Health

Public Health and Preventive Health Studies

Healthy Living and Optimal Nutrition

Health Tourism