The idea of evidence-based healthcare has been our priority since the first editions of our Symposium. Fifteen years ago there was an urgent need of a widespread and multilateral discussion about EBHC in order to develop a common language for Poland to work on changes in the healthcare system. As evidence-based medicine and decision-making has gained popularity, dedicated public institutions and formal mechanisms were established. Modernised healthcare management focused on the need of improving health outcomes, but as a result of the need to master the economic part of the system, which was very urgent at that time, it began to have a financial and statistical character to an unprescedented extent in Poland.

The critics of the reforms took advantage of that and started to highlight the bureaucratic and “heartless” character of the new decision-making mechanisms. So the need to counterbalance the situation appeared and it was done by introducing value-based healthcare – an approach focused on the patient and health outcomes. The concept of value-based healthcare, relatively young in Poland, achieved recognition of many environments related to the healthcare system. However, without wide-scale and expensive governmental actions we will have no tools, namely nation-wide data collection (registers) and their analysis, to fully implement the idea. And so far we do not have them.

In this situation, we see an opportunity to reflect on the effects of the former, current and future changes. Maybe, despite the need for further development of EBHC and VBHC, it is worth to look back? Maybe we should descend from our lush scientific branches and clear away the leaves to look down on the earth and common roots. And those common roots are Just Healthcare – the oldest health care concept. The Great Mother and the source of all the subsequent healthcare system concepts. After years of evaluating health technologies and sincere belief in evidence, we will find out whether we are still heading in the right direction. Is our science and procedures still pursuing the aims of the original concept of Just Healthcare.

We met at the 14th EBHC (or maybe VBHC?) Symposium, this time to retrace our roots...