Joint Statement of Intent on Collaboration in Improving the Quality of Health Care

Pursuant to the Letter of Intent between the USA Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Honorable Kevin Thurm, and the Secretary of State for Health on behalf of the UK, the Rt Hon Frank Dobson, signed on September 16, 1997, in London.

The USA Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Honorable Tommy G. Thompson, and the UK Secretary of State for Health, the Rt. Hon. Alan Milburn, MP.

Having expressed their commitment to collaborate in improving the quality of health care through the annual bilateral meeting under the aegis of The Commonwealth Fund and The Nuffield Trust and having convened a bilateral working group on quality.

Intend to seek opportunities for their respective countries to work collaboratively in health care quality improvement, especially in the areas of sharing information and experiences, patient safety and error reduction, defining the quality research agenda, improving quality measurement, enhancing the use of information technology, national quality reporting, quality standards and vocabulary, and eliminating disparities in health care.

Domains for Collaboration

• National Quality Reporting.
• Quality Monitoring of Targeted Conditions.
• Error Reporting and Patient Safety.
• Health System Disparities.
• Promoting Knowledge Management Approaches to Clinical Improvement.
• Health System Workforce.
• Primary Care.
• Cost Effectiveness.

Signed on 10th day of October 2001 in Washington, D.C.