by Christopher Cornue

Readers know of my passionate interest in international health, and I was very excited to read recently of a collaborative that has been underway for a few years ... especially when I realized that I know some colleagues whom I know are involved in it.

The International Patient Safety Collaborative was created in 2008 to "increase innovation and rapid-cycle knowledge transfer of best practices" in order to improve health in American and Middle Eastern Health Care Systems. This international collaborative used models that were created through the Institute for Healthcare Improvement to address hospital-associated infections and medication errors across the international network, comprised of hospitals in Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Colorado, Idaho and Missouri in the United States, as well as hospitals in Israel. Joint Commission International and VHA are also involved in the collaborative efforts.

They held their inaugural meeting in Jerusalem in September 2008 and plan to reconvene in June 2010 to share results of their measuring and efforts. Collaborating via video-conferencing, web-based meeting spaces and teleconferences has allowed the geographically challenged hospitals to interact in between the two face-to-face meetings, sharing ideas, methods and ways to improve health. The focus is always on the patient and, while it's too early to detail specific successes, it's exciting to see this type of global effort in place. As I've said in many circles: the future of healthcare is global, and the International Patient Safety Collaborative is an excellent example of this.

Christopher Cornue is principal for slainte global partners and is the former CEO at McKee Medical Center in Northern Colorado. He has also served as vice president at Mount Sinai Hospital and Health System in Chicago, and has held leadership roles at University HealthSystem Consortium and the University of Chicago Hospitals.