World Innovation Summit for health participates in 5th Asia-Pacific Affairs Council Forum

The World Innovation Summit for Health (WISH) recently participated in the 5^th APAC Forum, which took place from 12^th –  14^th September in Sydney, Australia.  

The event provides an opportunity to learn from leaders of pioneering programmes making a tangible impact on patients and organisations around the world, and this year, the forum brought together nearly 1,500 leading minds from 30 different countries to discuss innovation within the healthcare industry. Through its participation in the forum, WISH has expanded its footprint in the crucial Asia-Pacific region, helping to fulfil its mission of influencing policy and improving healthcare globally.

The forum included two sessions featuring content based on WISH reports, with discussions during the event expanding on this research. The first session focused on co-designing care between clinicians and patients for safer care, exploring methods to build partnerships in order to improve care quality, safety and patient outcome. The second session on health communications focused on the ongoing lessons from the ICT revolution and consequences for healthcare communications around current problems such as vaccinations, disease prevention and public emergencies.

Susan Edgman-Levitan, Executive Director, Stoeckle Center for Primary Care Innovation, Massachusetts General Hospital and Chair of the WISH 2013 Patient and Family Engagement Forum, co-presented at the first session with Stephanie Archer, Research Fellow at Imperial College London. Suzanne Suggs, Chair of the WISH 2015 Communicating Complex Health Messages Forum, presented at the second session.

Egbert Schillings, CEO of WISH, commented: “For the second year running, the APAC Forum has asked WISH to contribute research content and expertise to their annual conference. In its fifth year, it is now the third largest of its kind in the world and unites the global healthcare improvement community in new and exciting ways. It is testament to WISH's intellectual leadership and credibility to be a strategic partner to Ko Awatea and the entire Asia Pacific region.”

By contributing to the APAC Forum 2016, WISH supported the efforts of Ko Awatea, the health system serving New Zealand’s largest city, Auckland. Ko Awatea has proven to be a key strategic partner, as both an active member of the WISH community and a member of the Leading Health Systems Network (LHSN). LHSN is an initiative of WISH in partnership with Imperial College London. Since its establishment in 2009, LHSN has collaborated with 25 health systems from more than 12 countries to exchange knowledge among experts and discuss ways of making significant improvements in existing healthcare policies. Ko Awatea is also a partner to Qatar’s Ministry of Public Health, which has drawn on the New Zealand-based organisation’s best practices in creating integrated care in Qatar.

WISH, a global initiative of Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development (QF), is a meeting point for thousands of high-level policymakers, academics, and professionals. It has also evolved into a key platform for the dissemination of healthcare innovation and best practices.  The summit, which takes place 29^th –  30^th November, will feature innovation showcases from around the world that are shaping the design, delivery, and financing of care, as well as a cohort of young innovators; emerging healthcare leaders under the age of 30, whose contributions to global health deserve wider recognition.

The WISH 2016 Summit will feature nine research papers that highlight and address some of the world’s most pressing healthcare challenges, including Healthy Populations, Precision Medicine, Investing in Health, Accountable Care, Cardiovascular Disease, Autism, Behavioural Insights, Genomics in the Gulf Region and Islamic Ethics, and Healthcare Workforce. Internationally-renowned experts will chair the discussions. For the first time, WISH will also report on its impact, locally and globally, on issues previously highlighted at the conference, such as diabetes and patient safety.