DeltaHealth and Harvard Global Health Institute Hold Symposium

On April 12^th, the International Hospital Quality Management Symposium, co-hosted by Harvard Global Health Institute and DeltaHealth, was held at DeltaHealth Hospital Shanghai. Speakers included Dr. Ashish Jha, Director of Harvard Global Health Institute, Prof. Yan Dong fang, Vice President of Chinese Non-Government Medical Institutions Association and President of Shanghai Association for Non-Government Medical Institutions, Mr. Ji Chunhua, Deputy Director of the Qingpu District Health & Family Planning Commission, and Dr. Desmond Thio, CEO of DeltaHealth. The event was also attended by a number of medical institution managers from Shanghai.

Speakers from Harvard Global Health Institute covered many topics ranging from national healthcare reform to hospital management, quality improvement accountability, comparison between public and private hospitals, global experience and local practices. They also shared the findings of their latest report on global quality of care, providing an opportunity for attendees to exchange their views and contribute their insights on how to improve care in China in this high-level, constructive dialogue.

What does quality mean? According to Dr. Ashish Jha, "Quality means care that is safe, effective and patient-centered." Over the past few years, he has been leading his team to collect medical samples and data from around the world in order to identify the key factors shaping quality of care. In the US, for example, there are significant variations in safety -- despite the same health and payment systems and doctors' comparable professional skills. The risk-adjusted acute myocardial infarct6ion (AMI) mortality rate is only 5% to 10% in some hospitals, but can be as high as 40% or even 45% in others, despite the fact that there are no significant differences among these hospitals in terms of health, payment system and professional skills.

The debate has never stopped when it comes to the difference in quality of care between public and private hospitals. "The mix of private and public hospitals in many countries is a result of history and culture. In the US, healthcare mostly driven by private hospitals although about 30% of hospitals are public, with no discernable difference in quality between them. In the UK, public hospital dominates, although we are starting to see a rise in private hospitals. Yet, despite these large differences in how health care is financed and delivered, it is hard to see big differences. The US outperforms the UK in mortality rates for heart attack and the UK outperforms the US in post-operative venous thromboembolism(VTE), a key measure of patient safety. There is little evidence that either private or public hospitals are inherently better than the other. " Concluded Dr. Ashish Jha. 

"Quantitative research tells us that three factors are the key determinants of the quality of care -- good measurement of quality, public reporting and transparency, rewarding high performance," said Dr. Ashish Jha. First, it is important to measure what matters, not what is easy to measure; it is also necessary to make patient experience a critical component, rather than measure quality only from the perspective of professional healthcare workers. After measuring, a timely reporting system is also vitally important, which can make new data actionable and provide valuable information for clinicians. When speaking of incentives, he emphasizes the importance of transparency and simplicity of the incentive scheme, as complexity may cause confusion. "Collaboration among care teams is also extremely important -- doctors and nurses play equally important roles in care," he added.

Faced with growing healthcare costs around the world, Dr. Jose Figueroa, Director of BWH Management Leadership Track at Brigham & Women's Hospital, Harvard University, shared global innovative care models and explored how to access quality care at lower costs.

When talking about China's healthcare reform and experimental efforts to improve quality of care, Prof. Yan Dong fang said, "China's effort to reform health care and create hierarchical healthcare must be supported by the development of non-public hospitals. We hope to see a growing number of excellent participants in this process like DeltaHealth Hospital Shanghai, which will complement public hospitals and benefit the healthy and long-term development of healthcare in Shanghai and China at large." Since its opening in September, 2016, the hospital, driven by its concept of "patient-centric" and highly qualified medical staff, has completed nearly 100 complicated cardiovascular surgeries of various kinds and won wide praise from local healthcare communities and government bodies.

"The recently published 2030 Program for Healthy Shanghai (draft version) repeats the goal of improving quality of care and emphasizes the need to bring quality of care management and control up to par with global standards. This symposium is not only an echo of state policy directions, but is also perfectly aligned with Shanghai's aim to become an influential global health innovation hub and a global health model. From a regulatory perspective, DeltaHealth Hospital Shanghai is already on par with its international peers in terms of quality management concept and has become a brand in the private hospitals in Shanghai." said Mr. Ji Chunhua.

As a globally prestigious education and academic institution, Harvard Global Health Institute is committed to improving the health and lives of people around the world through scientific and behavioral research as well as through innovation in public policy and medical practice. "We are very honored to co-host this symposium with Harvard Global Health Institute. As a foreign-invested general hospital, quality management is our lifeline, which is safeguarded by our' patient-centric' organizational culture. We are looking forward to working with more healthcare institutions and regulatory bodies to advance healthcare in China," said Dr. Desmond Thio, CEO of DeltaHealth.

DeltaHealth Hospital • Shanghai

DeltaHealth Hospital, a subsidiary of DeltaHealth, a foreign-invested innovative healthcare provider, is a cardiovascular-focused general hospital designed and constructed in accordance with Joint Commission International (JCI) standards. The hospital provides internationally standardized, high-quality medical care, and is the only Chinese medical institution to establish a consultation and advisory relationship with Columbia Heart Source. DeltaHealth Hospital is committed to founding an integrated network of hospitals and clinics in China that specializes in cardiovascular care to benefit patients in Eastern China and beyond .The hospital occupies 50,000 square meters, with 200 beds set up in the first phase, and 350 beds planned for phase II. It has 38 intensive care units, seven operating rooms, two cardiac catheterization laboratories, and two hybrid operating rooms. To provide patients with a full range of medical care, we have established cardiovascular care-related departments, including Cardiology, Cardiac Surgery, Interventional Treatment & Medical Imaging, etc., as well as general departments, such as Gynecology, Pediatrics, and General practice.