Institute for Healthcare Improvement: 18th National Forum on Quality Improvement in Health Care

The National Forum on Quality Improvement in Health Care is the premier "meeting place" for people committed to the mission of improving health care. This annual event draws approximately 5,500 health care leaders from around the world in person and an additional 6,000 via satellite.

The Institute for Healthcare Improvement and the British Medical Journal Publications Group also sponsor the annual International Forum on Quality and Safety in Health Care.

For this year's National Forum in Orlando, Florida, we are expecting over 5,500 participants and thousands more via satellite.

Plenary session speakers at last year's National Forum included internationally known leaders and motivators Ronan Tynan, Stephen H. Lewis, and John E. Wennberg, MD, MPH.

Past plenary speakers include:

Donald M. Berwick, MD, MPP, FRCP, President and CEO, Institute for Healthcare Improvement
Paul O’Neill, Former US Secretary of the Treasury
Helen Bevan, PhD, Director of Service Redesign, NHS Modernisation Agency, UK
Paul Farmer, MD, PhD, Founder, Partners in Health
Benjamin Zander, Conductor, Boston Philharmonic Orchestra
Paul Plsek, Paul E. Plsek & Associates
John Nance, ABC News Correspondent
Joanne Lynn, MD, MA, MS, Center to Improve Care of the Dying
Sir John Oldham, OBE, MBChB, National Health Service, UK
Sister Mary Jean Ryan, FSM, SSM Health Care
Uwe Reinhardt, PhD, Princeton University

Videotapes of many of these speakers are available for purchase.

Future National Forum Dates and Locations:

December 9-12, 2007 Orlando, FL
December 7-10, 2008 Nashville, TN
December 6-9, 2009 Orlando, FL

2006 National Forum Co-Chairs

Mats Bojestig, MD, PhD, is the Chief Medical Officer at Jönköping County Council and the Chief of Department of Medicine at Höglandssjukhuset in Eksjö; specialising in Internal Medicine and Endocrinology. In 1999, Dr. Bojestig finished his Thesis entitled Glycaemic Control and Complications in Type 1 Diabetes. He is the Project Director for Pursuing Perfection, a Senior Fellow for the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) and a member of the Strategic Committee of the International Quality Forum arranged by the British Medical Journal (BMJ) and IHI.

In 2002, Dr Bojestig was the winner of the Swedish Malcolm Baldrige award in Health Care and the Götapriset award for the best quality project in public sector in Sweden.

Douglas Eby, MD, MPH, is Vice President of Medical Services for Southcentral Foundation (SCF) at the Alaska Native Medical Center. The customer-owned, Alaska-Native-led SCF primary care redesign has gained national and international recognition. Dr. Eby presents frequently about the SCF work and its potential for broad transforming applicability elsewhere.

Patricia A. Gabow, MD, is the CEO and Medical Director of Denver Health and Hospital Authority, one of the nation’s most efficient, highly-regarded, extensive and integrated health care systems that includes the Denver Health Medical Center, a regional Level I trauma center, the 911 system, a system of family health centers, school-based clinics, Denver Public Health, the Rocky Mountain Poison and Drug Center, a correctional health care program, the Rocky Mountain Center for Medical Response to Terrorism, and more. She has been nationally recognized for her work to increase access to basic health care for all Coloradoans, especially the underserved, most of whom are women and children.

Göran Henriks, is Chief Executive of Learning and Innovation at the Qulturum in the County Council of Jönköping, Sweden. The Qulturum is a centre for quality, leadership and management development for the employees in the County and also for the health care on the regional and national level. Göran took up his appointment in the start of Qulturum 1998. He has over twenty year’s experience of management in the Swedish health care system. Göran is a member of the Jönköping County Council Strategic Group.

Sven-Olof Karlsson, has worked at Jönköping County Council since 1972, holding the post of Chief Finance Officer and Chief Executive Officer for the last 17 years.

From 1986-1997, Sven-Olof was the Chairman for the National Investigation on Drugs and Medication Costs and in 1993-94, the National Investigator and Project Director to the Swedish Government to develop the system of tax equalization.