Compliance and reports
EHA is a non-governmental and not-for-profit membership organization that is guided by its mission to promote excellence in patient care, research and education in hematology.
In pursuing this mission, EHA acts exclusively in the interest of hematology and its practitioners and is bound by core values of independence, integrity and transparency. To ensure these interests, EHA has several instruments in place.
Statutes
The association’s independence is assured through its statutes which state that its members are individual scientific researchers or physicians who can demonstrate an active interest in the discipline of hematology. The members of EHA, assembled in the Annual General Meeting (Business Meeting), are the sovereign authority of the association. They appoint the EHA governing body; the Board of Directors which manages the association. In turn, the Board is accountable for its policies and finances to the members at least once a year, at the Annual General Meeting .
Good Governance Committee
The EHA Good Governance Committee is established to propose policies and to provide advice – on request or voluntarily – to the EHA Board with the objective to negate or minimize the risk of (potential or perceived) conflict between the interest of EHA and other, e.g. commercial, interest. Many of the below policies have been the result of the work of this committee.
Disclosure policy
Members of the Board, the Committees and the staff of EHA are obliged to declare any conflict of interest (COI) that they may have. In addition, they are obliged, annually, to sign a declaration that lists any affiliations they have with industry that could potentially form a COI.
Congress and education
For all continuing medical education (CME), including EHA Annual Congress or online education, EHA applies for accreditation at the European Board for Accreditation in Hematology (EBAH). The Standards & Guidelines of EBAH-CME Accreditation ensures the independence of the organizer, the topic selection, the speaker selection, and the educational materials. In addition, these Standards & Guidelines prescribe a number of conditions that the educational event must meet, such as the obligation of faculty to disclose their industry affiliations with industry.
EHA has annexed to all corporate sponsor contracts the EBAH-CME Code of Conduct which effectively binds sponsors to a priori adherence to the EBAH-CME Standards & Guidelines.
In addition, EHA Board members and invited speakers at the EHA Congress are precluded from speaking at industry organized satellite symposia at EHA Congress.
EHA further assures educational quality and independence by having installed an autonomous working committee called the Review Board that ensures that all educational content is original, up-to-date, and relevant to users of the EHA Medical Education Program.
Science
HemaSphere is the open access journal of EHA. Over the next years, we aim to develop HemaSphere as one of the top hematology journals, publishing basic, translational and clinical research of very high level. At the same time, we aim to make HemaSphere also the premier hematology information resource. HemaSphere is not just another journal in the field of hematology: we support basic research and clinical hematology by offering a fast and constructive review process, and we provide news articles relevant for hematologists, researchers and policymakers. It is a great opportunity to publish your work in HemaSphere.
HemaSphere adheres to the ethical principles outlined by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) available at: http://publicationethics.org/.
Protection of human individuals in research: Documented review and approval from a formally constituted review board (Institutional Review Board or Ethics committee) is required for all studies (prospective or retrospective) involving people, medical records, and/or human tissues.
When reporting experiments on human individuals, it is requested that authors indicate whether the procedures followed were in accordance with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975, as revised in 2008.
It is requested that the right to privacy of patients is respected and that informed consent is obtained. Identifying information (names, initials, or hospital numbers) cannot be used in manuscripts.
Obligation to Register Clinical Trials: Registration of Clinical Trials is an essential requirement for publication of clinical trials in HemaSphere. The ICMJE provides specific guidelines on this topic (http://www.icmje.org). On the title page of your manuscript, provide the name of the trial registry and the registration number/identifier of the trial.
Randomized Clinical Trials: Reports of randomized clinical trials should follow the recommendations given in the Consolidated Standards of Reported Trials (CONSORT) statement http://www.consort-statement.org. In brief, this statement comprises a checklist and flow diagram to help improve the quality of reports of randomized controlled trials and offers a standard way for researchers to report trials.
Protection of animals in research: When performing experiments on animals or animal tissues, authors should seek approval by an institutional ethics committee and strictly follow the institutional and national guide for the care and use of laboratory animals. At time of manuscript submission, authors should provide information on the study approval by an institutional ethical committee. Only manuscripts reporting on studies on animals or animal tissues can be considered if ethical committee approval of the study can be documented.
Data Sharing Statement: Manuscripts must contain a data sharing statement on whether data is available or not as outlined in the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors policy (www.icmje.org). A data sharing plan must be included in a trial’s registration for those that begin enrolling participants on or after 1 January 2019. Authors of secondary analyses using shared data must reference the source of the data and attest their use was in accordance with any terms agreed.
Statuses
EHA is a Public Benefit Organization (PBO) under Dutch Tax Law. This status obliges EHA to comply with a set of rules that include ensuring that more than ninety percent of our efforts are focused on the common good and publishing a yearly report on its activities and finances on the EHA website.
EHA is an evaluated and confirmed Healthcare professional organization eligible to be involved in European Medicines Agency. EHA must comply with stringent funding and governance requirements as stipulated in the Criteria to be fulfilled by healthcare professionals' organisations involved in EMA activities.
EHA is a member of the Alliance for Biomedical Research in Europe (BioMed Alliance). As a member, EHA is bound by the Code of Conduct for Healthcare Professionals and Scientific Organizations. This important document sets out core principles to maintain and enhance professional independence, objectivity and scientific integrity.
SUMMARY STRATEGIC AND WORK PLAN
As leading hematology organization in Europe, EHA is committed to optimize the services and benefits for its members, National Hematology Societies, patient organizations, partners, and beyond. By working together faster and better, progress can be achieved towards a cure for all blood disorders.
Our core activities are aimed at connecting hematologists worldwide, advocating the interest of hematologists and hematology, supporting career development and research and harmonizing hematology education and our mission to promote excellence in research, education and patient care is leading us in this.
Our organization is shaped based on the following core values:
Excellence
We are ambitious, creative, innovative, and forward thinking. We strive for excellence in all our activities. Our board members are experts and leaders of their respective fields.
Access and cooperation
We are accessible, responsive, inclusive and considerate. EHA is an open organization with a clear identity and partnership.
Independence and integrity
We are an organization of strong values; integrity, transparency and intellectual independence.
EHA’s activities are organized along the lines of the following pillars:
- Research & Mentoring
- Education
- Community
- Congress & Meetings
- European Affairs & International Alliances
- Communication
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To formulate strategic goals for 2022 and beyond, the EHA Board is reviewing EHA’s strategy for the next years aiming at sharpening its vision on the following:
- Further strengthen EHA’s role in promoting and facilitating Research and research training programs.
- Consolidate and further strengthen live and online Education to strive for lifelong learning in hematology, by offering peer-reviewed, high quality and unbiased education in various formats, suitable for different target groups.
- Represent and advocate the interest of hematology and hematologists in European politics where research, patient care, education and training are concerned.
- Actively identify and involve stakeholders in the activities of the association, with a special focus on EHA members, Sibling- & National Hematology Societies, and Patient Advocacy Groups.
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The translation of the mission and strategy into activities is represented in the Work Plan which includes the following projects and programs:
- EHA’s Annual Congress & Scientific Meetings,
- Further development of the EHA Research Program, including research funding and research & mentoring programs,
- Further development of the EHA Educational Program, including the EU Exam and launch of the Diagnostic Repository,
- Further development of EHA’s Outreach and International Collaborations Program,
- Further development and roll out of EHA’s Topics in Focus (TIF) Program, including the TIFs on Hemoglobinopathies and Immunotherapy,
- Further development of the YoungEHA community by organizing a series of activities targeted towards young hematologists, and
- Advocate the interest of hematology and hematologists especially in the areas of:
- Support for hematology research,
- Access to affordable treatment for patients with blood disorders,
- Real world evidence-based, personalized care for patients with blood disorders, and
- An optimized regulatory framework in line with the needs of hematology and hematologists.
- Publish EHA’s scientific journal HemaSphere, and
- Expanding services for EHA members and collaborative groups.
Annual Report
The annual report of the activities of the European Hematology Association in 2021 is available here. EHA is recognized as charitable institution (ANBI) under Dutch tax regulations since 2012 and is obliged to publish data included in this standard form.
Transparency
EHA aims for long-term relationships of mutual benefit with its sponsors. Apart from membership fees, registration fees, and charity sponsorship, sponsorship from industry is of great importance to fund EHA’s activities.
EHA receives funding from pharmaceutical companies, including corporate sponsoring (31.9% of EHA income in 2021; highest contribution from a single company 2% of overall income), unrestricted grants for education and training programs and fees for space rented for booths and satellite symposia at scientific meetings.
EHA is registered in the EU Transparency Register under identification number 91666778136-14.
Remuneration policy
EHA is a Common Good Organization under Dutch law. Profits generated from its congress are invested in other activities to that serve the hematology community. The Board and Committee members contribute on a voluntary basis to the Association’s work. Expenses for meetings are reimbursed. The EHA Executive Office has its own employment arrangements. The employees in the Executive Office function according to various job profiles, which are linked to the remuneration policy.
Contact details
Koninginnegracht 12b
2514 AA The Hague
The Netherlands
RSIN/fiscal number: NL8090.86.864
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