#SASKIHI11 @ #IHI

Regular readers might recall my post from August about the progress being made in Saskatchewan under the auspices of the Saskatchewan Health Quality Council.  The council is an independent agency that measures and reports on quality of care in Saskatchewan, promotes improvement, and engages its partners in building a better health system.

Well, upon arriving here in Orlando for the IHI Annual National Forum, I heard that there were several attendees from the province who had created their own Twitter hashtag to keep in touch with one another.  So, I borrowed the hashtag and invited myself to have dinner with them.  There, I heard more about the origins and organization of the SHQC.  It was created by provincial legislation in 2002, is funded by the province, and has an impressive board of directors.

Among the dinner crowd, too, was urologist and fellow blogger Dr. Kishore Visvanathan, who notes:

My QI journey started 5 years ago at the IHI National Forum. It was literally a life-changing experience for me.   This weekend, I'm going to the IHI National Forum again.  Will lightning strike twice? 

I was also pleased to meet Katherine Stevenson, a native of the province, who is currently getting her Ph.D. at the Jönköping Academy for Improvement of Health and Welfare.  This is the county in Sweden that is viewed as one of the most advanced place in the world in terms of integrating public health, primary care, and acute care -- and applying principles of process improvement on a broad scale.  Katherine, who used to work at the SHCQ, is hoping to return after receiving her degree to apply some of the lessons learned in her home community.