News

Yale Hosts Health Care Leaders from the UK

Health care executives from England traveled to Yale to study the U.S. system.

Twenty health care executives from England have completed a trip to Yale University seeking insights into the U.S. health system and how patient choice can improve, and also hamper, the quality of service.

The executives participated in a three–day conference that included tours of Yale–New Haven Hospital and the Hartford office of CIGNA, in addition to lectures and panel discussions.

The executives–from the United Kingdom’s National Health Service (NHS)–participated in the Advanced Session in Healthcare Management, which is part of a broader initiative between the Yale School of Public Health, Yale School of Management, and the South Essex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (SEPT). The program ran from July 23 to 25 as an advanced session to the Professional Development Program in International Healthcare Management that the participants attended last November at Yale.

The NHS introduced patient choice earlier this year and the executives wanted a first–hand look at the U.S. health care system and how choice drives innovation and improved quality, but also fragments health care services and technological advances. The goal is to equip health care leaders in the England with the tools to successfully manage the transition to a system that emphasizes patient choice.

The participants attended lectures by Dean Joel Podolny and Dr. Howard Forman of the Yale School of Management, and exchanged ideas with U.S. health care executives during panel sessions. Delegates also had the opportunity to reflect on their management skills during a leadership development session with Dr. David Berg of the Yale School of Medicine. Perhaps the highlight of the program was when participants presented the successes and challenges of the management projects they had been working on since last November’s program.

Yale and SEPT plan to continue their partnership through the Yale & SEPT Professional Development Program in International Healthcare Management to be held in November in Essex, England.