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A Voyage of Discovery
BUILDING ACADEMIC HEALTH CENTER INFRASTRUCTURE WORLDWIDE
Why Must U.S. Academic Health Centers Go Global?
Victor J. Dzau, MD, chancellor for health affairs, Duke University, president and CEO, Duke University Health System, and chairman, AAHC International Forum
Dzau addressed the pros and cons of international activities and the infrastructure needed to expand institutional activities to a global scale.
Essential Issues:
- A single global marketplace for healthcare is emerging.
- International institutions are competing for the same talent, the same ideas, and often the same research dollars as U.S. institutions.
- The growth in “medical tourism” and the increasing importance of global metrics for health care standards and quality means that academic health centers must engage with the rest of the world in order to remain competitive.
Potential benefits of global activities include:
- Development of an international reputation and brand
- Expanded revenue opportunities
- Enhancement of research and educational missions
- An increased ability to bring in patients from abroad.
- Access to new pools of talented students
- Greater opportunities to address global health inequalities
Ways academic health centers can create value for other countries include:
- Building a culture of innovation, quality, excellence, and integrity
- Providing advanced educational methods
- Translating research into clinical applications
- Experience with implementing the tripartite mission of academic health centers
Key questions, from strategic planning to competition, must be addressed before venturing into global markets. Financial, organizational, reputational, legal, political, and quality issues can pose risks.
Global ventures should:
- Be mission-driven
- Leverage an institution’s strengths
- Protect assets at home
- Engage with partners on a long-term basis
In developing international relationships, an academic health center should:
- Explore the needs of its partner’s communities
- Determine whether those needs are institutional strengths
- Leverage the strengths of its partners
- Provide expertise to strengthen its partner institution
The measure of a great academic health center will be its ability to go global.