My name is Preston Long and I am a post doctorate researcher at the Medical University of Vienna. My background covers several topics of healthcare psychology including, clinical mental health counseling, human factors, and psychophysiology. I originally received a MS, MA, and PhD on these topics in the US before relocating to Vienna. Throughout my career journey I have found that person/patient/client reported outcomes are heavily and historically undervalued in healthcare. It has been a professional mission of mine to increase both their perceived and actual value.  

I am one of the founding members of ECHORM and the current president-elect. I work to ensure that our organization is driving towards our goals in an efficient and well-organized manner. With this is mind, we are presently focused on the formal launch and open-house event for ECHORM. Here, we hope to spread the word about our mission and its’ importance, as well as to highlight the personal and professional benefits that becoming a member bring. Such benefits include, but are not limited to: networking with other professionals with similar interests, learning about the state of affairs and current practices in outcomes research and management, and the opportunity to be paired with an experienced professional mentor in the field. 

Value-based healthcare is an area with great potential, but it often involves researchers and managers scattered across various medical specialties, hospitals, and even countries. We most certainly come across similar obstacles. By pooling our resources and learning from one another, we can collectively contribute to enhancing healthcare services. The launch of ECHORM couldn’t have come at a better moment and I firmly believe together we can improve healthcare for the patient.