WISH welcomes global health improvement expert, Don Berwick, as 2015 keynote speaker

The World Innovation Summit for Health (WISH), a global initiative of Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development (QF), is pleased to announce that former US Department of Health  Administrator, Don Berwick, will be attending this year's summit as a keynote speaker to address delegates on global healthcare.

Don Berwick is former Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) within the Obama administration, and President Emeritus and Senior Fellow of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, an organization he founded and led for 20 years.

A long-term patient safety advocate, Dr. Berwick's commitment to improving effectiveness, sharing innovation and delivering fair healthcare for everyone makes him the perfect ambassador for WISH and a valuable speaker, bringing a lifetime of health expertise, to share with delegates at this year's WISH Summit taking place on 17 - 18 February in Doha, Qatar.

Don Berwick said: "I am honored to be taking part in WISH and look forward to joining such a prestigious global community. WISH provides an essential platform for global collaboration, bringing together some of the best internationally-renowned health experts to share insights and discuss solutions.

"This multinational conversation allows us the opportunity to side-step administrative complexity and instead focus on the task of cutting healthcare costs for everyone. I am hopeful that through this unique, global conversation we will share new ideas, uncover new solutions and conceive new policy and that will ultimately improve the lives of everyone."

WISH inspires and diffuses healthcare innovation and best practice, remaining closely aligned to the vision and mission of Qatar Foundation to unlock human potential and serve to underscore Qatar's pioneering role as an emerging center for healthcare innovation.

Professor the Lord Darzi of Denham, Executive Chair of WISH and Director of the Institute of Global Health Innovation at Imperial College of London, said: "WISH, at its heart, is about creating a community of healthcare experts passionate about identifying, sharing and promoting best practice the world over.

"To do this, we combine the rich experience of global experts to create templates for success. I am therefore delighted that Don Berwick will be joining us this year to bring policy creation experience from his time served in office advising President Obama, his system management expertise from his role at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) and his view on patient care from his work at Harvard Medical School.

"As an advocate of evidence-based medicine and an expert on managing healthcare systems, Don Berwick is perfectly placed to stimulate tangible outcomes from our 2015 summit."

Prior to his role at CMS, Don Berwick was President and CEO of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, a not-for-profit organization helping to lead the improvement of healthcare throughout the world. His vison to cut health care costs and ensure fair care for all were captured in this 2010 quote: "Any healthcare funding plan that is just, equitable, civilized and humane must, must redistribute wealth from the richer among us to the poorer and the less fortunate. Excellent healthcare is by definition redistributional." This munificent sentiment and global ambition is wholly in line with WISH's vision to create a healthier world through collaboration.

Don Berwick is one of several prominent speakers to present at the forthcoming WISH Summit, where world leading world experts will join an influential community of heads of state, government ministers, academics, clinicians, policy makers and business leaders to discuss innovative solutions to some of the most pressing global health challenges. WISH will publish reports on Delivering Affordable Cancer Care, Communicating Complex Health Messages, Diabetes, Dementia, Universal Health Coverage, Mental Health and Wellbeing in Children, and Patient Safety.

For more information about WISH, please visit www.wish.org.qa.