September 10th, 2008

Connecticut--(For Immediate Release)--The Global Knowledge Exchange Network (GKEN) has posted to its website, www.GKEN.org , its first set of better practices for consideration by the world’s major health systems. These novel and innovative health system practices are in the critical areas of primary and chronic care in underserved areas; retention and expansion of the healthcare workforce and groundbreaking approaches to a public health epidemic, obesity in adolescents, all areas of health concern currently plaguing many industrialized nations.

This initial publication of innovative healthcare practices that are identified as promising for industrialized health systems are the first fruits of an important conference held this past September at Merton College in Oxford, England. At that conference convened by GKEN, through a grant from Cigna Foundation, forty of the worlds’ leading health industry experts pledged to develop improved mechanisms for recognizing and promoting better health system practices around the world. This pledge, the Merton Declaration, provided the impetus and long term agenda for GKEN and its members to improve healthcare systems by becoming a clearinghouse for new and innovative healthcare system practices.

The group was convened under the auspices of GKEN, the Global Knowledge Exchange Network, a new international non-profit health organization whose sole mission is to improve the health and quality of healthcare on a global scale through the dissemination and promotion of replicable better practices. The GKEN participants, who serve without compensation, hail from all over the globe and represent government, healthcare providers, payers, academia and the corporate world. They are leaders in the medical arena, uniquely suited to provide a non-partisan, independent voice in support of improving health and healthcare systems today. The GKEN participants, come together at least semi-annually to identify, research and review the most current, effective and innovative practices being employed in a variety of healthcare settings from around the globe. Those cutting edge practices include but are not limited to methods for managing chronic illness, to addressing global workforce needs of the 21st century, innovative approaches to engaging individuals in better personal health practices, health promotion and wellness and evaluating the effectiveness of various new methods in the delivery and integration of health care practices. GKEN is committed to ferret out and promote what works in healthcare—wherever those solutions are found.

“The challenge most often has not been knowing which “better practice” to adopt but how to have it widely and rapidly adopted by healthcare systems and practitioners,” commented Jon Comola, CEO of GKEN.

GKEN has committed to not only pursuing strategies to disseminate the best existing and emerging practices but to also tackling the barriers that prevent adoption. Today, many of the most soundly-evaluated practices can face political, social, and even cultural resistance to adoption. In the coming months, GKEN will launch a website, electronic newsletter and other materials aimed at spotlighting some of the most efficacious, yet often overlooked, healthcare system practices.

“We can no longer be satisfied with academic journals quietly publishing better practices in medicine and healthcare delivery,” said Marty Davis, Governor of GKEN. “In order for healthcare systems across the globe to remain sustainable, we need a respected body to tell us what works and how to implement that. GKEN can be that resource.

GKEN participants provide the research and evaluation to identify better practices and serve as emissaries for promoting timely adoption of these better practices throughout the global healthcare community. The two-day meeting in Oxford was the third in a series of gatherings for the GKEN its advisors and governors. The next GKEN meeting is scheduled for April 2009. GKEN is supported through an unrestricted grant provided by CIGNA Foundation.