I am not an expert on China, but my several visits there have left distinct impressions about policies, activities and collaborations. If we think broadly about 3 areas of translation: bench to bedside and back, knowledge generation to determine what works and implementation of what works into effective healthcare delivery public health practices, there is merit in focusing on implementation because both countries have major gaps. The Duke Global Health Institute (DGHI) has done an amazing job in a short period of time in putting Duke on the global implementation science map.
Our Chancellor has caught the implementation science “bug”. In particular, leveraging his role in the World Economic Forum, he and Krishna Udayakumar have developed the Institute for International Partnership for Innovative Healthcare Delivery (IPIHD). Led by Duke, McKinsey and the World Economic Forum, the vision is to “Support innovators to scale, replicate successful innovative delivery solutions around the world, improving access to quality care at affordable cost”. The group is identifying not only what works, but studying models of successful delivery with a view that includes entrepreneurial development of delivery systems and business and financial models.
Until recently, I would have thought this is just a matter of the US “teaching China how to do it”. After all, we have many of the world’s most prestigious academic centers and public health efforts. However, an evaluation of the state of health of the 2 countries reveals that China is catching up quickly with the US in health statistics and that parts of the US are far below the national averages for China in measures like longevity and freedom from disability. IPIHD gives us a chance to see the world’s efforts and to adapt successful practices to the local cultural, financial, business and environmental landscape.
China has amassed massive financial resources, but it has major gaps in health status, as does the US. I hope we can find common ground to better understand how to solve these implementation issues.
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