HPH NOW, April 14, 2006, U.K. Medical Leaders Attend Five-Day Health Care Workshop at HSPH

Paul Levy, President and CEO of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

More than 60 doctors, senior human resources staff, and allied health professionals from the U.K.'s National Health Service came to HSPH in March to learn about health care in the U.S. The annual workshop "Leadership through Effective HR Management: Improving Health Care Delivery-Benchmarking with the U.S.," was organized by Marc Mitchell, lecturer on international health in the Department of Population and International Health.

Established after World War II, the NHS provides universal access to health care for U.K. residents and has been recognized as one of the best health care services in the world by the World Health Organization.

The system is now undergoing a reform process in response to dissatisfaction with waiting times for elective procedures, increased bureaucracy, and other issues. The HSPH program helps train NHS employees who are undertaking the reform.

Speakers during the five-day conference included Gary Gottlieb, president of Brigham and Women's Hospital; Paul Levy, president and CEO of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center; David Cutler, professor of economics at Harvard University; David Chin, partner, PriceWaterhouseCoopers; John Halamka, CIO, Harvard Medical School, and CIO, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center; Tom Delbanco, professor of general medicine and primary care, Harvard Medical School; Lucian Leape, adjunct professor of health policy, HSPH; Bill Walczak, director, Codman Square Health Center; Dorothy Kelly Gay, director, Senior Supportive Housing, Hebrew Senior Life.

They covered issues in key areas of U.S. health care, including restructuring and turning around health organizations, physician management, disease management, patient-centered care, and patient safety.