The European Association for Quality and Patient Safety in General Practice/Family Medicine (EQuiP), a network of WONCA Europe, has successfully concluded its 68th annual conference in Kraków, Poland. Hosted at the historic District Medical Chamber, the event brought together European family physicians, primary care researchers, and policy advocates under a vital theme: “Strengthening the Heart of Primary Care: Well-being and Resilience in Family Physicians.”
Recognizing that patient safety and healthcare quality are intrinsically linked to the health and satisfaction of the workforce, the conference moved away from individual "coping" mechanisms. Instead, discussions focused on system solutions, organisational design, and technological integration to combat burnout and build sustainable clinical environments.
The conference officially commenced in the main Lecture Hall with a distinguished panel of European and local leaders welcoming the delegates to Kraków:
🎓 Prof. Dr. Dorien Zwart (EQuiP Chair, University Medical Center Utrecht) opened the proceedings, welcomed the delegates and outlined the conference programme and the importance of Family Medicine core values across the European primary care landscape.
🇵🇱 Dr. Krzysztof Studziński (Local Host, Jagiellonian University Medical College, Department of Family Medicine) welcomed international colleagues to Poland, highlighting the collaborative spirit of the event.
📈 Prof. Adam Windak (Local Chair; Vice-President of the College of Family Physicians in Poland and Chair of the Department of Family Medicine, Jagiellonian University Medical College) offered deep insights into the current state and future path of general practice in Poland.
🤝 Dr. Bogdan Badowski (Local Chair; Past President of the District Medical Chamber in Kraków) provided warm welcome addresses on behalf of Dr. Marzena Ksel-Teleśnicka (President of the District Medical Chamber in Kraków), grounding the event within the long medical heritage of the region.
Following the opening plenaries, the scientific programme explored the factors shaping modern general practice through three main educational pathways:
0
1. 🩺 The Core Vision of Professional Health & Quality
At the centre of the conference was the fundamental link between a healthy doctor and a safe patient.
🎤 Keynote Vision: Asst Prof Dr. Andrée Rochfort (Ireland), immediate past EQuiP president, delivered a foundational keynote address, “Sustaining the Workforce: Lessons from Irish Doctors’ Health in Practice Programme,” which detailed how organisational support for the professional health of family doctors is an essential prerequisite for high-quality, safe clinical care.
🛠️ System Quality Workshop: Joel Lehmann (Switzerland) complemented this vision by exploring along with Asst Prof Dr. Rochfort how organisational quality improvement initiatives can be intentionally redesigned to act as direct drivers of "joy in work."
2. 🤖 Digital Ecosystems, AI, and Cognitive Burden
A major pillar of the conference was exploring how digital technology can serve as a supportive ally rather than an administrative burden.
💡 Keynote Insights: Ulrik Bak Kirk (Denmark) delivered a highly anticipated address titled, “Digital Ally or Digital Burden? Navigating the Role of AI in Enhancing Physician Well-being,” exploring the critical friction points and opportunities of introducing artificial intelligence to the clinical interface.
🌍 Implementation & Equity Workshop: Stijn van den Broek (The Netherlands) built upon this digital theme, addressing the critical barriers, focussing on closing implementation gaps to deliver safe, equitable digital family medicine across Europe.
🧠 Practical Innovation Workshop: Dr. Abraham Thomas (UK) led parallel practical discussions on utilizing AI tools to reduce cognitive burden and alleviate daily clinical stress, helping family doctors reclaim professional fulfilment.
3. 👥 Workforce Resilience, Mentorship, and Safety Protocols
Participants collaborated on practical strategies to protect clinicians while optimizing patient outcomes.
🌱 Self-Care & Trauma: Dr. Krzysztof Studziński (Poland) and Dr. Łukasz Reczek championed healthcare professional self-care as the foundation of patient safety. Dr. Studziński also facilitated a specialized interactive session: “Staying Well While Hearing Stories of Harm: An ABC Self-Care Workshop for Family Doctors.”
📋 Clinical Safety & Deprescribing: Workshops provided ready-to-use clinical frameworks. These included dedicated tracks on Significant Event Analysis in primary care by Prof. Zlata Ozvacic Adzic (Croatia), alongside a practical roadmap for managing polypharmacy and safe deprescribing in daily practice, led by Dr. Jose-Miguel Bueno-Ortiz (Spain), Dr. Pilar Astier (Spain) and Asst Prof. Andree Rochfort.
⏳ Evidence-Based Stress Management: Workshop H: Led by Dr. Anees Abed S Alyafei (Qatar), this session translated stress models into clinical tools, demonstrating how to use the Perceived Stress Scale and progressive relaxation with 4-7-8 breathing in consultations.
🔗 System Resilience: EQuiP President Prof. Dr. Dorien Zwart (The Netherlands) and Dr. Sıdıka Ece Yokuş (Turkey)—winner of the Call for Young Family Doctors: Keynote Concept Competition—emphasized restructuring intergenerational mentorship to protect younger doctors entering high-stress environments, while Dr. Anastasiya Spasibo (Ukraine) shared powerful insights on delivering safe care during extraordinary crises.
Following the conclusion of the scientific conference, the EQuiP Council convened on 23 May 2026 at the District Medical Chamber in Kraków for a pivotal session dedicated to the network’s operational, fiscal, and legal governance.
Led by President Prof. Dorien Zwart, the Council advanced several major structural and leadership milestones:
⚖️ Legal & Fiscal Governance: The Council unanimously approved the 2025 financial review and the 2026 budget forecast, confirming the organization’s stable financial standing. Furthermore, a major structural milestone was reached as the Council voted to relocate EQuiP's legal seat from Denmark to Belgium, establishing an international non-profit organization (ivzw) to ensure long-term compliance with modern European regulations and to seamlessly align with the overarching WONCA Europe legal framework.
🗳️ Executive Elections & Leadership: The assembly marked important governance updates, most notably the official election of Dr. Jose-Miguel Bueno-Ortiz (Spain) as the EQuiP Honorary Secretary, a role he had already been successfully executing over the preceding months.
🗺️ Future Outlook & Strategic Planning: The framework for the EQuiP Strategic Plan 2026–2028 was advanced, setting the stage for an interactive co-creation workshop with all Council members at the upcoming Autumn Closed Meeting in Bratislava, Slovakia.
🚀 Moving Forward
The consensus from Kraków is clear: sustaining primary care requires ongoing quality improvement directed at our representative organisations and our workplace, and not only at data collection that focuses on clinical metrics. EQuiP and WONCA Europe thank all organisers, hosts, facilitators, and delegates who contributed to this milestone meeting.
The complete Abstract Book will be posted, and lecture slide decks and workshop toolkits will be available via the Official Conference Portal.
EQuiP
