Clinical Excellence
February 12, 2008
Permanente Federation Leader Invited to London to Talk Health Care
The Permanente Federation's Executive Director, John H. Cochran, MD, recently addressed a conference of 1,000 physicians and medical leaders from across the United Kingdom. This was one of many interactions in an ongoing relationship between The Permanente Federation and the National Health Service of the United Kingdom.
Dr. Cochran was asked to address the conference by UK's innovative Minister of Health, Professor Lord Ara Darzi, who is working to bring together the world's best ideas in health care to help shape the United Kingdom's National Health Service for the 21st century.
"Some aspects [of NHS] are already world class. The challenge is to ensure that every aspect matches the best—to take our health service from good to great," states Lord Darzi in the NHS Next Stage Review, Interim Report.*
Dr. Cochran spoke about physician leadership and accountability, health care information technology's impact on patient care, and the use of an integrated model of health care—fundamental to Kaiser Permanente's success.
"The issue of strong, accountable physician leadership really resonated for the audience. No matter how well-designed a system, idea, or clinical environment, one of the key enablers is strong physician leadership," Cochran says.
The European interest in Kaiser Permanente was initiated by the British Medical Journal report issued Jan. 19, 2002, vol. 324, entitled, "Getting more for their dollar: a comparison of the NHS with California's Kaiser Permanente." This in-depth report compared and analyzed costs and performance of Kaiser Permanente and the NHS with respect to access to care, responsiveness, quality of care, information technology, and integration.
Cochran's presentation was preceded by Colorado Permanente Medical Group executives who presented in 2007 at the Healthcare of London Framework for the Future conference; that presentation helped build a relationship with Lord Darzi. Mike Chase, MD, associate medical director, quality, Colorado Permanente Medical Group, and Hal Wolf, vice president of medical group operations, addressed multiple branches of the NHS at that conference.
Since that time, a joint relationship has fostered learning from both parties, The Permanente Federation and the NHS. Both teams share ideas, thoughts, and challenges. Dr. Cochran says that he values insights gained from the NHS.
"They [NHS] are a national system of health. In the U.S. we operate without a national system in place. We both learn a lot from one another," he says.
Dr. Cochran's involvement with the NHS has also been well received. "Dr. Cochran is a fantastic clinical leader. I have been impressed by his enthusiasm and vision," says Lord Darzi.
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* NHS Next Stage Review, Interim Report, "Our NHS-Our Future," October 2007, Department of Health.
