Senior health care leaders from countries around the world convened in Berkeley, CA last month at an Advanced Health Leadership Forum (AHLF) to discuss key health care issues that are converging across countries and organizations.  Participants heard from renowned faculty and guest speakers on several issues as they explored what has worked and not worked and as they identified promising innovations for the future.  

Part 1 of the forum focused on policy and took place last July in Barcelona. January’s session in Berkeley focused on key management techniques, leadership training, and strategies for assuring quality and health system change. The diversity of participants and speakers was key to the interactive discussions and to the overall success of the program.

The 22 AHLF participants hailed from England, US, Spain, Korea, The Netherlands, Germany, Estonia, and South Africa.  Their employers included health maintenance organizations (Kaiser Permanente), the National Health Service, health ministries, public and private hospital organizations, insurance companies, pharmaceutical companies, and health care research foundations.

Expert faculty were drawn from University of California, Berkeley and San Francisco, and six universities in Europe.  Guest speakers included: Dr. Harvey Fineberg, president, US Institute of Medicine; Mr. Leonard Schaeffer, chairman, Wellpoint, Inc; Mr. Bruce Bodaken, president, chairman, and CEO, Blue Shield of California; Dr. John Kitzhaber, two-term governor of Oregon; Dr. Molly Coye, founder and CEO, Health Technology Center Institute for the Future; Dr. Kenneth Kizer, president and CEO, National Quality Forum; Dr. David Lawrence, retired chairman, Kaiser Permanente; and additional executives from Kaiser Permanente, the United Kingdom's National Health Service, WHO, the World Bank, and the European Union.

Originators of the program, the University of California’s School of Public Health (Dean Stephen Shortell and Professor Richard Scheffler) and the Universitat Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona (Professors Guillem Lopez-Casasnovas and Pere Ibern) will launch the second cycle in Barcelona this July 15-22, right after the International Health Economics meeting.  Subsequently Part 2 will take place in San Francisco, CA from January 6-13, 2006. 

Applications for the next cycle of the Advanced Health Leadership Forum are due by March 30.  For more information, see http://www.ahlf.upf.es/ or email Ms. Meg A. Kellogg, program administrator at ahlf@berkeley.edu.