2017 CUGH Satellite: Putting quality on the global health agenda

This symposium will provide a lecture followed by a panel discussion to explore the need to increase access to healthcare and simultaneously ensure that the care provided is of sufficiently high quality (i.e. care that is safe, effective, patient centered, timely, efficient, and equitable). Healthcare systems need to think beyond access and coverage of healthcare services, and start measuring and systematically improving quality of healthcare in LMICs. This session of leading international experts will discuss and debate the best approaches to measurement of health care quality; examples of quality improvement programs that have worked or failed, and lessons from such case studies; quality of care in private versus public sectors; use of quality dashboards, audits and tools, and their likely impact on quality; and understanding an overcoming the persuasive know-do gap (i.e. gap between what healthcare providers know and what they actually do in practice). Speakers will also reflect on why quality health care is critical for reaching global health goals, and why focusing on healthcare availability and utilization may not delivery the SDGs.