A designation you earn: the EUSTM Centre of Excellence Programme

Updated 26 September 2026: this summary now uses the programme’s current published wording and links directly to the eligibility review.

The EUSTM Centre of Excellence Programme recognises eligible healthcare institutions and defined services that demonstrate achievement of EUSTM’s programme requirements. Applications undergo evidence review and verification, followed by a designation decision under the published governance framework. Recognition identifies the assessed organisation and scope and is subject to ongoing maintenance.

How the programme works

• Three assessment scopes — Hospital or Health-System, Clinical Department, and Specialist Centre. These scopes define the organisational unit being assessed and are not quality tiers or rankings.
• A six-domain framework — Clinical Outcomes and Service Standards; Patient Safety Culture; Clinical Governance and Quality; Workforce Education and Professional Development; International and Institutional Collaboration; and Research and Translational Medicine where applicable.
• Research and Translational Medicine is optional for care-focused designations and mandatory only where the requested title expressly includes Translational Medicine or Clinical Research.
• Three-year designation — valid for three years, subject to annual maintenance and continued good standing, with renewal assessment before the period ends.
• Earned, not purchased — assessment fees cover the review process and administration. Payment, membership, sponsorship or consultancy does not purchase or guarantee a designation.
• Separate from advisory work — purchasing EUSTM advisory or educational services is not a condition of applying and does not confer preferential treatment.