The European Pathway Association is an international not for profit association under Belgian law.

The purpose of the association is:
- To conduct international research into the quality and efficiency of organizing healthcare and methods for the coordination of primary healthcare and care pathways (aka clinical pathways, integrated care pathways (ICPs) or critical pathways).
- To set up an international network for pooling know-how and the international training initiatives that go with it.
- To foster international cooperation between healthcare researchers, managers and healthcare providers from European countries and the wider international community.
- To advise policymakers within the area of healthcare management.

The association will achieve this goal by, among other things, performing and developing any activity which is related, directly or indirectly, to healthcare. The association will stage annual conferences on problems in the organizing of processes or care pathways in healthcare in Europe or elsewhere. The discussion subjects will be chosen by the Council on the advice of the officers of the meeting (the Bureau). All activities will, insofar as possible, be organized on a rotating basis in the different countries where the association has offices. For this purpose, it will liaise with universities, scientific societies and local institutes.

The idea for a European Pathway Association was suggested by Kris Vanhaecht, Catholic University Leuven, Belgium and Massimiliano Panella, Piedmonte University, Italy, during the International Society for Quality in Healthcare (ISQUA) 2003 conference in Dallas.

The European Pathway Association (E-P-A.org) was launched on September 16 & 17, 2004, in Jesi, near Ancona (Italy). The first Workshop on the European Focus on Clinical Pathways was organized by the Agenzia Regionale Sanitaria di Regione Marche under the supervision of Prof. Francesco Di Stanislao, director Agenzia Regionale Sanitaria and Prof. Massimiliano Panella. In 2008 the E-P-A became an official not for profit association.

The E-P-A bureau is the daily management team of the association. Prof. Massimiliano Panella is president, Dr. Kris Vanhaechtis secretary general, Prof. Walter Sermeus is treasurer and Mr. Ruben Van Zelm is secretary. Our membership manager is Mrs. Clare Gallagher. Our E-P-A office is based in Leuven, Belgium, and our office manager is Mrs. Alexandra Pardon.
The E-P-A bureau is actually setting up national E-P-A sections in several countries. The chairmen of these section will form the new E-P-A council as defined in the E-P-A statutes. More information on the first meeting of the council can be found in the June 2009 issue of the E-P-A Newslette. An update on the council members can be found here [90 KB] .

Between 2004 and 2009 the E-P-A has been involved in:
- the International Journal of Care Pathways (more info here)
- The international survey on care pathways in 23 countries (for more info take a look here)
- The E-P-A summer school 2007 with delegates from 17 different countries
- The E-P-A summer school 2008 with delegates from 12 different countries
- The healthcare events & E-P-A international conference in 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009
- Care pathway conferences in London (UK), Ancona (Italy), Dublin (Ireland), Haugasund (Norway), Amsterdam (The Netherlands), Ljubliana (Slovenia), Leuven (Belgium), Barcelona (Spain), ... (for more info take a look here)
- The European Quality of Care Pathways Study (an international clustered randomised trial) (for more info take a look here)
- 3 PhD projects at Leuven University and Piemonte University
- Policy advise in Belgium, Italy, Slovenia, Norway, Mongolia, Egypt, The Netherlands, Scotland, England, Ireland
- Literature reviews inclucing a Cochrane review on care pathways
- and much more