Also in PHMI WORLD:

• Six staff members from Asan Medical Center in Korea complete Harvard observerships
• Progress in education and patient care at Sri Ramachandra University in India
• Other news and updates from Dubai, Singapore, and China

From the Partners announcement:

Partners hospitals also scored well in the individual specialties rankings, rating among the top ten in 13 of the 16 fields.  BWH ranked first in kidney disease for the second consecutive year, while also earning the top ranking in gynecology.  MGH was ranked first in psychiatry for the thirteenth consecutive year, while McLean Hospital ranked fourth place in psychiatry, continuing to be the highest-ranking freestanding psychiatric hospital on the list.  Spaulding placed seventh in rehabilitation, and was again the only New England rehabilitation hospital making the list. In addition, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, with which Partners formed Dana-Farber/Partners CancerCare, ranked fifth nationally in cancer, while the MGH Cancer Center ranked seventh.

MGH was among the top ten hospitals in the country in eleven specialties, including psychiatry, cancer, cardiology, endocrinology, digestive disorders, geriatrics, neurology/neurosurgery, kidney disease, orthopedics, respiratory disease, and rheumatology. 

BWH ranked in the top ten hospitals in the country in five categories, including kidney disease, cardiology, endocrinology, gynecology, and rheumatology.

U.S. News analyzed data on 5,453 medical centers to produce this year’s rankings.  Only 170 hospitals were ranked in one or more specialties and, of those, just 19 were of Honor Roll caliber.

You can read the entire US News report here.

Participant Objectives

• Develop an institutional vision and mission
• Understand and apply the principles of assessment theory
• Analyze approaches to assessment
• Translate educational goals into measurable outcomes
• Design assessment systems that support continuous quality improvement

Program Co-Directors

• Elizabeth Armstrong, PhD, Senior Consultant at PHMI and Clinical Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School
• H. Thomas Aretz, MD, Vice President of PHMI and Associate Professor of Pathology at Harvard Medical School

Dates: October 20-23, 2008 

Registration: Registration for the course is on a first-come, first-serve basis, with a deadline of August 15, 2008. To register, please contact Jocelyn Kwan via email at jocelynkwan@nus.edu.sg or by telephone at 6516 8123.

Once completed, the 12,500-square-meter 21st-century structure will house both the new medical school and the Alice Ramez Chaghoury School of Nursing. The $18-million state-of-the-art complex will be the nation’s most technologically advanced medical school - a world-class facility with video streaming, videoconferencing, digitized collections of microscope slides, multi-disciplinary laboratories, an electronic library, and 24/7 cyber cafe.

The new medical school will contain a simulation and skill assessment center for patient encounters, including a mock-up laboratory, full-scale-simulation surgical-procedure room, multi-purpose bays and control room.

“The underlying concept behind the design is to build the medical and nursing school around people rather than just technology. Fundamental human needs like comfort, and social ambiance will take prominence. The blueprint allows for ample natural light and large windows to maximize daytime illumination for a motivating atmosphere and inspirational view,” said LAU’s public relations director Christian Oussi.

. . .

Since becoming LAU’s president in 2004, professor Joseph G. Jabbra has been the driving force behind LAU’s aggressive and unprecedented $100 million expansion campaign.

“The establishment of the Medical School is an integral part of our exceptional achievements; building upon past successes,” said Jabbra. “The Medical School was also established to fill the void created by not having proper indigenous disease research in the region,” he added.

See additional coverage from this blog and revisit the beginnings of the LAU-PHMI collaboration.

In recent years, accreditation by Joint Commission International has served as a kind of stamp of approval that patients look for when considering foreign providers. But JCI accreditation — like accreditation by the Joint Commission (formerly JCAHO) — isn’t really a measure of clinical quality. What it is, says PHMI Senior Consultant Dr. John Helfrick, is an indication that a hospital has the systems and processes in place to support high-quality, safe patient care:

“Accreditation” is generally not well understood. It is a process, not an event. There is a “validation” survey but it’s the maintenance of good processes and the improvement of deficient ones that occurs between surveys that really constitutes accreditation. Most “accreditationists” believe that health care outcomes are dependent on the quality of the structures and processes in place in a health care organization. The accreditation process is designed to assist organizations in implementing and then improving their structures and processes. The effectiveness of this process is borne out by the measurement of and, hopefully, the improvement in the outcomes of care.

In recent years PHMI has worked with several health care organizations who have used the JCI accreditation process as a guide for instituting a culture of quality. The process provides a roadmap that helps the provider to develop the kinds of structures they need to produce good outcomes. And while the distinction of earning JCI accreditation can be used as a marketing tool for as long as it is viewed as an indicator of attention to quality care, most clients believe that the process of earning accreditation is most important. From Dr. Helfrick:

Some hospitals pursue accreditation to give themselves a marketing advantage; others do it for the right reason. Interestingly, it’s this latter group that has the most effective marketing approach: commit to high-quality, safe care, and the patients will come. Hospitals that go through the triennial cycle once and then drop out have most likely become accredited for the wrong reason. 

Read what else Dr. Helfrick has to say about hospital quality improvement in the July-August issue of PHMI WORLD.

In this issue: The Wockhardt Hospital network looks to capitalize on the progress it has made in building a culture of quality, while nursing leaders from the U.S. and Dubai work to institute a professional practice model for the University Hospital in Dubai based on Magnet principles. Elsewhere in the Middle East, Alfaisal University and Lebanese American University prepare to open new medical schools. Also: PHMI’s Bruce Dowton chairs a panel of internationally renowned scientists who are looking at the future of research in Australia, John Helfrick talks about hospital quality improvement and accreditation, and faculty from Harvard Medical School and other institutions converge to discuss what lessons a unique student exchange program can provide for understanding health care systems.

The Springfield Land Corporation (SLC) has tapped HMI to assist with the strategic planning of an integrated health, wellness, and education campus that will be part of a community expansion in the state of Queensland . . .  

. . . HMI’s role thus far has been to facilitate collaboration between the key stakeholders, including not only SLC and provider groups in the health care community, but also the Queensland government and its Department of Health. HMI is also helping SLC explore how education programs will be integrated into the campus. Dowton and other HMI team members have conducted a series of site visits aimed at synthesizing the perspectives of the groups involved and advising SLC on its long-term strategic plan.

Now the Springfield group has unveiled the blueprint for the Springfield Health City, which “will be a revolution in the approach to health care and wellness in Australia, and provide all the necessary services for the rapidly growing population of Greater Springfield and its surrounds,” according to City chairman Professor John Hay. Hay said the plan for the Health City was based on research conducted by HMI, which recommended a Health City concept with a private/public partnership incorporating all forms of health care including primary care, acute care, alternative care, integrated residential including aged care, retirement living and hotels, education, research and E-health, underpinned by a strong focus on training future health workers.”

Complete release from Greater Springfield

The panel discussion was part of a three-day event that included a workshop for new LAU medical faculty led by Dr. N. Lynn Eckhert, PHMI Director of Academic Programs, PHMI Senior Consultant Dr. Constance Bowe, and Dr. Zeinat Hijazi, Assistant Dean for Medical Education at LAU. A highlight of the workshop was a small-group, problem-based learning exercise conducted with eight pre-medical students at LAU.

The event culminated in a day-long symposium on medical education, featuring a keynote address by Dr. Eckhert and an introduction to the LAU curriculum by Dr. Hijazi. The panel discussion gave voice to the rich diversity of medical education traditions in Lebanon. In addition to Dr. Kamal Badr, the founding Dean of LAU’s medical school, the speakers included representatives from the country’s six other medical schools, including five school deans.

The LAU School of Medicine, which will be based in Beirut and Byblos, will feature an American-style curriculum. Its first class of medical students will commence in September 2009.

Read more and view photos from the event on the LAU website: http://www.lau.edu.lb/news-events/news/medical_workshop/

UPDATE: Event featured in PHMI WORLD

From the article:

Dr. Eckhert reminded the students that being a physician meant that their learning was not over because medical knowledge, technology and procedures were progressing constantly.

“It means that you will still be studying far into the future and as long as you have a career in medicine,” she said.

“Your graduating from medical school is just one more step in your education, for you will need to keep up with the current state of medicine in your area of expertise.”

St. Matthew’s Dean of Clinical Sciences Dr. John Randall said he was proud of the graduating class, many members of which had to go to study in Maine after Hurricane Ivan, until repairs to the dormitories and campus here could be made.

“You probably could be called Ivanites,” he said.