WCIC3 – 3rd World Congress on Integrated Care, Mexico City

Dr Nick Goodwin
CEO
International Foundation for Integrated Care (IFIC)

Nick is co-Founder and CEO of the International Foundation for Integrated Care (IFIC), a not-for-profit membership-based foundation dedicated to improving the science knowledge and application of integrate care across the World. Nick also works as a Senior Associate at The King’s Fund, London supporting its programme of research and policy analysis for integrating care. Nick’s international commitments include the EU FP7 Project INTEGRATE and the European Innovation Partnership on Active and Healthy Ageing. Nick is working with the World Health Organisation to support the development of a Global Strategy to develop person-centred and integrated care, and is on the Expert Advisory Team to WHO Regional Office for Europe’s Framework for Action Towards Coordinated/Integrated Health Services Delivery (CIHSD).

Prof. Guus Schrijvers
Chairman and Founder
International Foundation for Integrated Care (IFIC)

Guus Schrijvers is Chairman and Founder of the International Foundation for Integrated Care (IFIC). He graduated in 1973 with honors from the faculty of economics and in 1980 received his PhD on the thesis regionalization and financing of English, Swedish and Dutch health care from the University of Maastricht. From 1987 – 2012 he held the Chair of Public Health at the Julius Center for Health Sciences and Primary Care at the University Medical Center Utrecht. He has published numerous books and articles on health care innovation. His scientific focus is towards integrated care, managed care, regional visions, urgent care, child health care, integrated mental health care and disease management. As a teacher he acquired extensive experience in the provision of postgraduate education and advising organizations in the field of co-between settings, strategic management, financial management and quality. Along with twenty employees he evaluated thirty smaller and larger health care innovations. Internationally, Schrijvers together with foreign partners, compares care innovations and integrated care in the Netherlands, England, Denmark, Canada and Germany. He published a popular weekly newsletters to thousands of colleagues covering healthcare affairs at home and abroad. Guus Schrijvers retired in 2012 but he remains very active in the healthcare sector. In October 2014 Schrijvers published ‘Healthcare innovation as the Cappuccino Model’. He spends much of his time now researching and writing his current book ‘More Health at Constant Budget’. He also gives lectures and workshops and is a member of several steering committees and advisory committees. He is available for lectures, research assignments and interviews.

Dr Viktoria Stein
Senior Fellow in Integrated Care
Head of Education and Training
International Foundation for Integrated Care (IFIC)

Dr. Viktoria Stein joined the International Foundation for Integrated Care in September 2015 as Senior Fellow in Integrated Care and Head of the Integrated Care Academy©. As such, she is responsible for the development of IFIC’s Education and Training programme, which provides a range of courses and tools to support knowledge transfer, skills development and technical know-how. Among the portfolio is the International Summer School on Integrated Care, webinar series and content provision for Master’s programmes around the world. The courses are relevant for students, researches and professionals alike and are adapted to the needs of partners, such as universities or local health boards, on demand.

Viktoria holds a PhD in health economics and in her work focuses on health systems and their organization, specifically how to design contextualized integrated models of care and how to manage the change process towards such models. She previously worked with the WHO Regional Office for Europe coordinating the development of the Framework for Action on Coordinated/Integrated Health Services Delivery, and supporting WHO Member States in reforming their health systems to better address the challenges of providing services for ageing populations and people with multi-morbidities. Prior to joining WHO, she was a research assistant at the Medical University of Vienna, working on the development of Austrian national priorities regarding integrated care and a national integrated care programme for dementia patients and their caregivers, among other things. In 2009, she was the Scientific Programme Coordinator and Organiser of the 9th International Conference on Integrated Care in Vienna. Throughout her career, Viktoria had a strong interest and focus on education and training, teaching students and professionals around the world, as well as developing her own course programmes.

Viktoria was a founding member of the Board of IFIC and is on the editorial board of the International Journal of Integrated Care. Moreover, she is the founding president of the Young Researchers in Health Network (YRIHN), which will be further developed under the auspices of IFIC.

Professor David Perkins
Director, Centre for Rural and Remote Mental Health (CRRMH)
University of Newcastle, Australia

Professor David Perkins is currently Director and Professor of Rural Health Research at the Centre for Rural and Remote Mental Health, The University of Newcastle, Australia.

David’s research interests concern primary health care systems in rural and remote settings with a particular interest in mental health services. He has led research focused on providing empirical evidence to inform policy and implementation of mental health service delivery for rural and remote areas. He is a member of the NSW Minister’s Advisory Committee on Rural Health and a board member of the International Foundation for Integrated Care.

David is editor in chief of the Australian Journal of Rural Health and an editor of the International Journal of Integrated Care. He was chair of the 2nd World Congress of Integrated Care held in Sydney in November 2014.

Dr Reynaldo Holder
Regional Advisor
Hospitals & Integrated Healthcare Delivery Systems
Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO)

Dr Reynaldo Holder is Regional Advisor – Hospitals and Integrated Health Care Delivery Systems, Area of Health Systems based on Primary Health Care, PAHO/WHO. Reynaldo has 29 years’ experience in the Health Sector, including seventeen years in administrative and technical positions and eleven years’ experience as a Paediatrician. He is currently serving as Regional Advisor in Hospitals and Integrated Health Care Delivery Systems with the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization in Washington D.C. Dr. Holder is a specialist in organization and management of health systems and services both at the national and local levels. He served for five years (1994-1999) as Regional Director for the San Miguelito Regional Health System in Panama, where he played an instrumental role in the design and implementation of the new management scheme for the San Miguelito Hospital and the modernization of the regional health services. Dr. Holder also worked as Regional Technical Director for the North East Regional Health Authority in Jamaica (1999-2002) before joining PAHO/WHO in March 2002. Since joining PAHO he has worked in Belize (2002-2004), Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean Countries (2004-2006). He holds a Doctor in Medicine Degree from Instituto Superior de Ciencias Médicas de La Habana, Cuba (1982); a Medical Specialist Degree in Pediatric Medicine from Hospital del Niño, Panama (1988); and a Master in Science in Health Services Management from Universidad Latina de Panama (2002). Dr. Holder is a member of the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE) and a citizen of the Republic of Panama.

Nuria Toro
Consultant on People-Centred and Integrated Health Services
World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva, Switzerland

Nuria holds an Economics and Business Administration degree from the University of Deusto (Spain), a Postgraduate Diploma in Business Analysis from Lancaster University (UK) and a Diploma in Health Management from Deusto Business School (Spain). At the beginning of her career she worked as a consultant for KPMG Consulting, developing projects in the field of strategy and business management for both private and public sector. In 2004 she joined the Basque Institute of Healthcare Innovation, where she has been working as a senior researcher for ten years. She was involved in the design and implementation of the “Strategy for tackling the Challenge of Chronicity in the Basque Country”, released in 2010. Two years after, she became engaged in the design, development and evaluation of the “Integrated Care Plan in the Basque Country”, which underpins the transformation approach towards a more integrated, quality and efficient Basque healthcare system. Her areas of expertise are health services organization, management and evaluation, integrated care and chronic disease management.

Helmut Hildebrandt
CEO
OptiMedis AG, Germany

Helmut Hildebrandt is CEO of OptiMedis AG, a german management and investment company that co-operates with doctors, hospitals, health insurance funds and pharmaceutical and medical industry to provide entire regions with integrated (full-service) health care solutions. It analyzes health care data and performs independent, data-based real-life care research and makes the results available for the integrated provision of health care services. He is also CEO of Gesundes Kinzigtal GmbH, a management company for integrated health care in Haslach / Germany. It manages and coordinates medical care in a pre-defined area for over 31.000 people insured by the public health insurance companies AOK and LKK Baden-Württemberg. Besides Helmut Hildebrandt is co-chair of the “Heinrich Boell Foundation”, a policy thinktank being near to the Green Party in Germany. He is also board member of the German Managed Care Association (BMC) and the International Foundation for Integrated Care. Helmut Hildebrandt gathers more than 30 years of experience in the health care arena. He holds a pharma-cy diploma from Philipps-University, Marburg / Germany, and has worked intensively with the World Health Organisation (Copenhagen) and in health sciences with the University of Hamburg. He also was responsible for a study in health care systems for the Stanford University and an Evaluation of medical laboratories in Germany for an Australian investor besides around 200 other consulting engagements for ministries, profes-sional associations, hospital systems and physician networks. Helmut Hildebrandt consulted the German ministry of health in the 2000 health care reform regarding the integration and coordination of health care. He has published more than 200 papers on health and disease management, managed care, health care policy and integrated delivery systems.

Dr Albert Alonso
Innovations Director
Hospital Clinic Barcelona

Albert Alonso is a senior researcher at the Innovation Directorate, Hospital Clinic Barcelona. Albert holds a PhD in Medicine and a post graduate degree on Management and Organisation of Information Systems. He has been a main contributor to the development integrated care services at Hospital Clinic and the area served by the hospital. At present, he is involved in Project Integrate that benchmarks existing approaches to integrated care models in Europe. Albert is vice-chair and secretary of the International Foundation for Integrated Care (IFIC) and member and active participant in the action group B3 on Integrated Care (EIP-AHA).

Dr Sebastián García Saisó
General Director of Quality and Education
Secretariat of Health of Mexico

Dr. Garcia holds a medical degree from the National Autonomous University of Mexico, a Master of Science in Health Policy Planning and Financing from the London School of Economics and Political Science and a Master of Science in Health Policy from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. He has served at the Ministry of Health of Mexico in different positions, his contributions has been especially relevant in the Sub Ministry of Integration and Development of the Health Sector. Currently he is the General Director of Quality and Education.

Dr Miguel Angel Gonzalez
Chair of Health Systems Research
Faculty of Health Sciences
Anahuac University, Mexico City

Miguel A. González Block graduated in biology and anthropology from Cambridge University and received his PhD in sociology from El Colegio de Mexico, arguably Mexico’s finest postgraduate social science institution. Dr. González Block is former Director of the Centre for Health Systems Research, National Institute of Public Health, the premier research and teaching centre of its kind in Latin America. Until December 2004 he was Manager of the Alliance for Health Policy and Systems Research within WHO’s Evidence for Health Policy.  Dr. González Block dedicated 15 years to policy analysis and research at the National Institute of Public Health of Mexico and the Mexican Health Foundation. He was Health Specialist at the Inter-American Development Bank in Washington, DC, charged for sector loans and technical co-operation for the Bank’s Region 2 countries (Mexico, Central America and Hispaniola). Most recently, he is Chair of Health Systems Research, Faculty of Health Sciences, Universidad Anáhuac, Mexico City. Miguel Angel Gonzalez Block has published over 95 works on health sector reforms, decentralization, community participation and research capacity development, and serves as a member of the National Academy of Medicine and the Mexican Public Health Society. Lastly, Dr. Gonzalez Block is a member of the National Researchers System in Mexico.

Dr Luis Miguel Gutiérrez-Robledo
General Director
National Institute of Geriatrics
Secretariat of Health of Mexico

Dr. Gutiérrez is a Mexican scholar trained in France in geriatric medicine and the biology of aging; he received his Ph.D. in Public Health from the University of Bordeaux in 2005. He has served on the faculty of the National University of Mexico School of Medicine, since 1994 as head of the geriatric medicine specialty program. He founded the Department of Geriatrics at the National Institute of Medical Sciences in 1989 and was its Head until January 2009. He is presently Director General of the National Institute of Geriatrics in Mexico. Dr. Gutierrez’s research agenda focuses on the epidemiology of aging and more specifically on frailty and dementia and the interface between both conditions. He has served in various national and global committees including the Advisory Committee at the International Association of Gerontology and Geriatrics, and the Pan American Health Organization; and in the editorial boards of several specialty journals. He is a founder member of the Latin American Academy for the Medicine of Ageing (ALMA), and serves the profession in multiple forms including as member of review study sections of the Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología. He has more than 200 publications among books and scientific papers.

Esther Suter
Director
Workforce Research and Development
Alberta Health Services

Esther Suter holds a PhD in Natural Sciences (1990) from the Swiss Institute of Technology and an MSW (2003) from the University of Calgary. She has been a health researcher for more than 20 years. Since 2011, she has been the Director for the Workforce Research and Evaluation unit, an applied research unit within the largest provincial health authority in Canada. Esther Suter has more than 20 years of experience in health research. The focus of her research is on interventions to enhance collaborative practice, how to achieve integrated health systems, and exploration of innovative care delivery models.

Brenda Reiss-Brennan
Mental Health Integration Director
Intermountain Healthcare

Dr. Reiss-Brennan is a medical anthropologist and psychiatric nurse practitioner working in primary care for over 35 years. As a principal investigator she leads Intermountain Healthcare’s (IH) adoption, diffusion and evaluation of clinical integration for mental health and primary care.  The cost and quality evidence of the Mental Health Integration (MHI) innovation has transformed primary care culture and has spread rapidly over 90 IH medical clinics including uninsured, rural and 45 non-IH community clinics throughout the United States. MHI provides team based culture for the advancement of IH medical health homes which supports the shared accountability driven by US health reform. Dr. Reiss-Brennan holds a longstanding faculty appointment at the University of Utah, College of Nursing. She serves as a local, national and international consultant for cultural innovation, implementation and spread of MHI cost and quality research to improve population health.

Craig P. Tanio
Chairman,
State of Maryland’s Health Care Commission

Craig Tanio is the Chairman of the Maryland Health Care Commission, a regulatory body focused on improving advanced primary care, health care quality, and health information in the state of Maryland.

He formerly was the Chief Medical Officer of JenCare, a joint venture between ChenMed and Humana that developed a high intensity primary care model for low to moderate income seniors with multiple chronic conditions enrolled in Medicare Advantage programs. Craig was hired to lead and scale the clinical model for the JV, which grew from 0 to 25 centers in six southeast markets with 30k+ lives managed in a staff and MSO model over 4 years. Total medical costs and hospital admissions decreased by more than 20% in two years with top quintile HEDIS and net promoter scores.

Craig also was a partner at McKinsey and Company, where he helped multiple payors, providers and international health systems develop and implement strategies to better manage health care costs and improve quality for 12 years. He worked as the Chief Operating Officer of Baltimore Medical System, one of the largest U.S. federally qualified community health centers dedicated to delivering healthcare to the uninsured.

He holds appointments as Assistant Professor of Medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and Senior Scholar in the Department of Health Policy of Jefferson Medical College.

He received a M.D. from the University of California, San Francisco, a M.B.A. from the Wharton School and a B.A. in Political Science from the University of California, Los Angeles. He did his internal medical residency at the University of Pennsylvania where he was chief medical resident and a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Clinical Scholar. He is board certified in internal medicine and actively practices medicine.

Jon Darpón
Minister of Health
Basque Country

He got his Degree in Medicine (1982) at the University of the Basque Country (EHU-UPV), a PgM on Primary Care (1991) at Newcastle University and a PgS in Management of Health Organisations (1997) at the EADA (Escuela de Alta Dirección y Administración) in Barcelona. For more than 20 years he has been working as a Doctor and as a Manager at different services in several public and private Basque hospitals. Finally, in 2013 he became the Minister of Health of the Government of the Basque Country-Euskadi for the period 2013-2016. From this post he heads the Basque Public Health Service, Osakidetza, considered one of the best health services in Europe and specialised and recognised for its Management Model and Health Quality, both promoted by Minister Darpón for many years during his professional career.

Anne Hendry
National clinical lead for Integrated Care
Joint Improvement Team

Anne, a consultant geriatrician and Honorary Clinical Associate Professor at the University of Glasgow, works with the Scottish Government and Joint Improvement Team as clinical lead for Integrated Care.

She supports professionals to improve outcomes for older people and people with multiple conditions in Scotland through person centred care and support that fully integrates health, social care, housing, community and voluntary sectors, and is co-designed and delivered with people in local communities.

Anne is a trustee for two national charities, represents Scotland in the European Innovation Partnership on Active and Healthy Ageing, and is on the advisory board for the European Joint Action on Chronic Diseases and Promoting Healthy Ageing across the Life Cycle.

She is an Associate Editor for the International Journal for Integrated Care.

Albert Ledesma Castelltort
Director
Pla interdepartamental d’atenció i interacció social i sanitària
Generalitat de Catalunya

Albert Ledesma Castelltort is a Family and Community Medicine specialist. Director of Inter-ministerial Health and Social Care and Interaction Plan, Department of Presidency. Generalitat de Catalunya, Government of Catalonia.

He is also Founding partner of the first entity of associative basis of Catalonia.Primary Care Team Vic, which manages the primary care services of health area in the city of Vic

Jeannie Haggerty
PhD, Professor
McGill University, Department of Family Medicine, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Dr Armando Ahued Ortega
Mexico, Federal District Health Secretary

Antonio Heras Gómez
Senior Advisor
IMSS- Prospera Program
Mexican Institute of Social Security

Knowledge Partners

Transportation

The airport has authorized taxis. We recommend taking taxis to the hotel which is 12km and less than 30 minutes’ drive from the airport. Please find more information regarding authorized taxis and other transfer options on the airport website.

Are visas required for travel to Mexico?

Depending on where you are traveling from, a visa may be required to enter Mexico. Find out more information here.

Will there be any interpretation services available?

Interpretation services will be available in Spanish during some sessions. The official language of the conference is English.

What is the accepted currency in Mexico City?

The Mexican Peso is the most widely accepted form of currency in Mexico City. US dollars are also accepted at most places in Mexico City.

What is the time difference?

Mexico’s time zone is six hours earlier than Greenwich Mean Time (GMT). Daylight Saving Time begins on the first Sunday in April and ends on the last Sunday in October

How much do I tip?

The average tip for service is 10-15% and one or two dollars per suitcase carried. Always check your bill first as tip may already be included.

What adaptors are used?

The standard electricity supply is 110 volts. Hotels usually offer voltage converters for 220 volts devices. We recommended that you bring your own adaptor.

Best Paper Award Winner

Rationale for improving integrated service delivery: reduced cost and improved care in Georgia
Tamar Chitashvili
University Research Co. LLC, United States of America

Best Poster Award Winner

Care transitions from the Emergency Department to home for patients with chronic illness 
Maria Alice Lima
School of Nursing/Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

Best Poster Runner Up Award Winner

Concordancia en la notificación de casos con Tuberculosis y VIH, una herramienta para fortalecer la atención integrada de las personas con la co-infección en México
Yazmin Dávila
Cenaprece/Salud, Mexico

Judging Panel

Dr Albert Alonso
Innovations Director
Hospital Clinic Barcelona

Dr Albert Alonso is a senior researcher at the Innovation Directorate, Hospital Clinic Barcelona. Albert holds a PhD in Medicine and a post graduate degree on Management and Organisation of Information Systems. He has been a main contributor to the development integrated care services at Hospital Clinic and the area served by the hospital. At present, he is involved in Project Integrate that benchmarks existing approaches to integrated care models in Europe. Albert is vice-chair and secretary of the International Foundation for Integrated Care (IFIC) and member and active participant in the action group B3 on Integrated Care (EIP-AHA).

Dr Viktoria Stein
Senior Fellow in Integrated Care
Head of Education and Training
International Foundation for Integrated Care (IFIC)

Dr. Viktoria Stein is a consultant with the Health Services Delivery Programme of the Division of Health Systems and Public Health at the WHO Regional Office for Europe, where she is currently coordinating the development of the Framework for Action towards Coordinated/Integrated Health Services Delivery. Viktoria serves on the boards of the International Foundation for Integrated Care and the International Journal of Integrated Care. For IFIC, she leads the portfolio on Education and Training to develop a curriculum for integrated care. As such, she also organises the Integrated Care Academy©. Prior to joining WHO, she was a research assistant at the Medical University of Vienna, working on the development of Austrian national priorities regarding integrated care and a national integrated care programme for dementia patients and their caregivers, among other things. In 2009, she was the Scientific Programme Coordinator and Organiser of the 9th International Conference on Integrated Care in Vienna. She is also affiliated with the Medical University Vienna, where she is a PostDoc research assistant. Moreover, she is the founding president of the Young Researchers in Health Network (YRIHN).

Esther Suter
Director
Workforce Research and Development
Alberta Health Services

Esther Suter holds a PhD in Natural Sciences (1990) from the Swiss Institute of Technology and an MSW (2003) from the University of Calgary. She has been a health researcher for more than 20 years. Since 2011, she has been the Director for the Workforce Research and Evaluation unit, an applied research unit within the largest provincial health authority in Canada. Esther Suter has more than 20 years of experience in health research. The focus of her research is on interventions to enhance collaborative practice, how to achieve integrated health systems, and exploration of innovative care delivery models.

Carmen Santamaría Guasch
Director
Bona Dea Salud Mexico

Carmen holds a degree in Economics from the University Pompeu Fabra, she completed two postgraduate programs, Public Policies for Social Development (CIDE, Mexico) and Health Management (University of Barcelona).
She has over fifteen years of consulting experience with special emphasis on the management of complex change processes in public sector institutions. She served at the Consortium for Health Care and Social Services of Catalonia in Mexico from 2006 to 2014. Carmen is currently Director of Bona Dea Salud Mexico and independent consultant on Health Services.

Josep Lluis Fernandez Roure
General Director CHC
Mexico

Josep is a Family Physician with master degree in Tropical Medicine graduated from the Autonomous University of Barcelona. He have large experience in primary care and management and he has worked in different positions in the Catalan Institute of Health. Currently is the General Director of Catalan Health and Social Care Consortium in Mexico.

Rafael Bengoa
Director of the Health Department
DEUSTO Business School, Spain.

After qualifying as a medical doctor, Rafael Bengoa practised for seven years in both hospital and primary care. He also worked for 15 years for the World Health Organisation in Copenhagen and Geneva, where he was Director of Management of Chronic Conditions and later Director for Health System Policies.

From 2009 to 2012 he was Minister for Health and Consumer Affairs in the Basque Regional Government, and is now both Vice Chairman of the Advisory Group of Horizon 20/20, which deals with health, demography and wellbeing, and Director of the Health Department at the DUESTO Business School in Spain.

A Senior Fellow of Harvard University School of Public Health and the co-author of numerous healthcare policy documents in Spain and internationally, he holds MsCs in Community Medicine and Health Systems Management from the University of London.

Nuria Toro
Consultant on People-Centred and Integrated Health Services
World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva, Switzerland

Nuria holds an Economics and Business Administration degree from the University of Deusto (Spain), a Postgraduate Diploma in Business Analysis from Lancaster University (UK) and a Diploma in Health Management from Deusto Business School (Spain). At the beginning of her career she worked as a consultant for KPMG Consulting, developing projects in the field of strategy and business management for both private and public sector. In 2004 she joined the Basque Institute of Healthcare Innovation, where she has been working as a senior researcher for ten years. She was involved in the design and implementation of the “Strategy for tackling the Challenge of Chronicity in the Basque Country”, released in 2010. Two years after, she became engaged in the design, development and evaluation of the “Integrated Care Plan in the Basque Country”, which underpins the transformation approach towards a more integrated, quality and efficient Basque healthcare system. Her areas of expertise are health services organization, management and evaluation, integrated care and chronic disease management.

Marino J. Gonzalez
Professor at the department of Economics and Administration
Unit of Public Policy
Universidad Simón Bolivar, Venezuela

Marino J. Gonzalez is Professor of Public Policy and Health Policy at the Universidad Simon Bolivar (USB), Venezuela. He also works as consultant and technical advisor in the areas of health policy analysis, health economics and health policy evaluation. His work has been mainly oriented to evaluate the performance of health systems in Latin American and Caribbean countries.

In the last 15 years, at the Unit of Public Policy (USB), his major area of research has been focused on the measurement of health conditions at national and local levels. In recent years, he has coordinated two major research projects using national and local household surveys to identify gaps both in health and social conditions as in the delivery of health services in Venezuela. The main objective of this line research is to improve the quality of health policies at national, sub-national and local governments. He has also developed methodologies to be utilized in different aspects of economic evaluations of health interventions. He has been also working as consultant to national and international organizations in the analysis of health systems in Venezuela, Guatemala, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Honduras, Panama and Paraguay. He also has coordinated research projects to design and implement monitoring systems for chronic diseases in public agencies. In 1992-1993 he was Director of Social Policy at the Ministry of Planning (CORDIPLAN) of Venezuela.

He receives his medical degree from the Universidad Central of Venezuela. He also has a specialization in Public Health from the same university. He has a Master of Political Science from the USB, and a specialization in Public Policy from the University of Colorado at Boulder. He holds a Ph.D. from the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Pittsburgh. His areas of specialization are: public policy, development policy and health policy in Latin American and Caribbean countries.

Dr. Leonel Antonio Flores Sosa
Director
Inter-American Center for Social Security Studies (CIESS)

Dr.Flores studied medicine in his native El Salvador, where graduated from the University of El Salvador. He was elected Director of the Inter-American Center for Social Security Studies (CISS) at the XXVII General Assembly of the Inter-American Conference on Social Security (CISS), on July 25, 2013.

His career has focused on the field of scientific research and has a wealth of experience in scientific quality control, clinical research, scientific research operating procedures, good clinical and control practices, as well as state and federal regulations. He was honored on April 23, 2014 by Universidad ISALUD, in Argentina, as Professor Honoris Causa, in recognition of his arduous work on behalf of mankind, as well as for his standing as a researcher, his execution of clinical trials and his many publications. In 2011, Dr. Flores was appointed Director General of the Salvadoran Social Security Institute (ISSS) by the President of the Republic of El Salvador; a position he held until January 2014. He was named “Specialist of the Year” by the ISSS in 2001, as well as one of the premier Resident Chiefs of the decade in said nation. He has also been recognized on several occasions for his services to the community.

He worked on the consolidation of the Ibero-American Multilateral Agreement on Social Security, as well as the concomitant Implementation Agreement for same. The Agreement was designed to ensure migrants receive equal treatment in the member nations’ social security systems, especially with regard to the issue of pensions, in the Latin American country where they reside. In this context, Dr. Flores promoted the consolidation of the Multilateral Agreement for the Healthcare Protection of Insured Individuals in Transit within the Social Security Institutions of Central America and the Dominican Republic.

Dr Luis Miguel Gutiérrez-Robledo
General Director
National Institute of Geriatrics
Secretariat of Health of Mexico

Dr. Gutiérrez is a Mexican scholar trained in France in geriatric medicine and the biology of aging; he received his Ph.D. in Public Health from the University of Bordeaux in 2005. He has served on the faculty of the National University of Mexico School of Medicine, since 1994 as head of the geriatric medicine specialty program. He founded the Department of Geriatrics at the National Institute of Medical Sciences in 1989 and was its Head until January 2009. He is presently Director General of the National Institute of Geriatrics in Mexico. Dr. Gutierrez’s research agenda focuses on the epidemiology of aging and more specifically on frailty and dementia and the interface between both conditions. He has served in various national and global committees including the Advisory Committee at the International Association of Gerontology and Geriatrics, and the Pan American Health Organization; and in the editorial boards of several specialty journals. He is a founder member of the Latin American Academy for the Medicine of Ageing (ALMA), and serves the profession in multiple forms including as member of review study sections of the Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología. He has more than 200 publications among books and scientific papers.

Dr Miguel Ángel Lezana Fernández
General Director of Knowledge Diffusion and Research
National Commission of Medical Arbitration (CONAMED)
Secretariat of Health of Mexico

Dr. Lezana is a prominent authority in Public Health in the Latin America Region. He has served at the Ministry of Health of Mexico in several executive positions such as General Director of National Centre of Preventive Programs and Control Diseases, General Director of Quality and Education, General Director of Epidemiology. He played a key role in the design and implementation of an ambitious agenda to reform the nation’s health system and introduced comprehensive universal health insurance and the Integrated Health Care Model. In 2014, Dr. Lezana received the PAHO Award for Administration. It recognizes his leadership in the field of epidemiological surveillance and health information systems, his distinguished career as a manager and leader of health services administration, and his contributions to medical education, among other achievements. In addition to his many executive positions, Dr. Lezana has served in several academic roles including, professor at the National Institute of Public Health and the Faculty of Medicine of the National University of Mexico. He holds a medical degree from the National University of Mexico and MSc in Epidemiology from the Harvard School of Public Health

Esther Suter
Director
Workforce Research and Development
Alberta Health Services

Esther Suter holds a PhD in Natural Sciences (1990) from the Swiss Institute of Technology and an MSW (2003) from the University of Calgary. She has been a health researcher for more than 20 years. Since 2011, she has been the Director for the Workforce Research and Evaluation unit, an applied research unit within the largest provincial health authority in Canada. Esther Suter has more than 20 years of experience in health research. The focus of her research is on interventions to enhance collaborative practice, how to achieve integrated health systems, and exploration of innovative care delivery models.

Mary-Jo Monk
Senior Policy Analyst
Department of Health and Wellness
Government of Nova Scotia

Mary-Jo Monk has eighteen years of experience working in provincial health and social policy in the provinces of Ontario and Nova Scotia, Canada. She has worked on policy initiatives addressing access to health services, the inclusion of people with disabilities, social assistance programs and the promotion of optimal early childhood development. Since 2005, Mary-Jo has designed health policy and system improvements in Nova Scotia. Here, her work has involved the development of the province’s inter-sectoral Framework for Social Prosperity, the enhanced integration of health services across facility and community-based care, and the development of a Collaborative Care Framework to strengthen the provincial primary health care system. Over the past year Mary-Jo has collaborated with the WHO European Region, contributing to options for incorporating equity principles in health and economic development strategies and to the development of the Framework For Action toward Coordinated/Integrated Health Services Delivery and. Mary-Jo holds a Master of Arts in Sociology with a focus on public policy as a means to advanced social and economic wellbeing.

Dr Reynaldo Holder
Regional Advisor
Hospitals & Integrated Healthcare Delivery Systems
Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO)

Dr Reynaldo Holder is Regional Advisor – Hospitals and Integrated Health Care Delivery Systems, Area of Health Systems based on Primary Health Care, PAHO/WHO. Reynaldo has 29 years’ experience in the Health Sector, including seventeen years in administrative and technical positions and eleven years’ experience as a Paediatrician. He is currently serving as Regional Advisor in Hospitals and Integrated Health Care Delivery Systems with the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization in Washington D.C. Dr. Holder is a specialist in organization and management of health systems and services both at the national and local levels. He served for five years (1994-1999) as Regional Director for the San Miguelito Regional Health System in Panama, where he played an instrumental role in the design and implementation of the new management scheme for the San Miguelito Hospital and the modernization of the regional health services. Dr. Holder also worked as Regional Technical Director for the North East Regional Health Authority in Jamaica (1999-2002) before joining PAHO/WHO in March 2002. Since joining PAHO he has worked in Belize (2002-2004), Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean Countries (2004-2006). He holds a Doctor in Medicine Degree from Instituto Superior de Ciencias Médicas de La Habana, Cuba (1982); a Medical Specialist Degree in Pediatric Medicine from Hospital del Niño, Panama (1988); and a Master in Science in Health Services Management from Universidad Latina de Panama (2002). Dr. Holder is a member of the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE) and a citizen of the Republic of Panama.

Luis Duran Arenas
Director Centre for Mexican Studies in UK
National Autonomous University of Mexico

Luis Durán-Arenas received his MD from the University of Mexico (UNAM) in 1981, and an MPH, an MA in Sociology, and a PhD in Health Services Organization and Policy from the University of Michigan (UM). He has participated in nine research projects in health care quality and technology assessment. From 1989–91, Dr Durán-Arenas was Director of Strategic Projects at the National Institute of Public Health in Mexico (INSP), and from 1991–93, he was the Director of Managerial and Social Sciences at INSP. From January 1994 to September 1995, he was Director of Quality and Technology Assessment at the Secretariat of Health. Dr Durán-Arenas was Head of Department of Health Systems Organization at the Faculty of Medicine of National Autonomous University of Mexico.

Rafael Lozano
Director of the Center for Health Systems Research
National Institute of Public Health (INSP)

Dr Lozano is Senior Researcher “Level F” at Mexico’s National Institute of Public Health (INSP) where he also serves as director of the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Initiatives and Professor of Global Health for the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME).

Dr. Lozano spent seven years at the Ministry of Health in Mexico as the General Director of Health Information in this role, Dr. Lozano played a critical role in the construction of Mexico’s health reform through a systematic approach to evidence building. He spent several years at the Mexican Health Foundation, coordinating the Health Needs Assessment unit for the Center for Health and the Economy, and completed a two-year Research Fellowship at the Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies. He has contributed his wealth of experience to numerous expert and advisory groups, including the Core Group of the Global Burden of Disease 2010 Study, the Technical Advisory Group for the WHO’s Health Metrics Network, and the Pan American Health Organization’s Health Statistics Advisory Committee. He has advised numerous countries on health sector strengthening and burden of disease studies, including Chile, Uruguay, Spain, and Colombia.

Carmen Santamaría Guasch
Director
Bona Dea Salud Mexico

Carmen holds a degree in Economics from the University Pompeu Fabra, she completed two postgraduate programs, Public Policies for Social Development (CIDE, Mexico) and Health Management (University of Barcelona).
She has over fifteen years of consulting experience with special emphasis on the management of complex change processes in public sector institutions. She served at the Consortium for Health Care and Social Services of Catalonia in Mexico from 2006 to 2014. Carmen is currently Director of Bona Dea Salud Mexico and independent consultant on Health Services.

Marianne Samuelson
General Practitioner
North West of France

Marianne Samuelson is associated professor of General Practice at the university of Caen Basse Normandie.
Through out her professional career she developed interest in Health Care organisation at system level and practice level. Her main focus has always been on Primary Care, team development and leadership.
She developed interest in medical education for health care providers, quality improvement research, promotion of inter professional collaboration among Primary Care providers.

She was the founder of the department of General Practice at the University of Caen and chaired the department until 2012.
She was the regional officer (correspondante régionale ) for Quality Improvement in Health Care for the National Agency In Health Care evaluation ( ANAES) …
She was consultant for Primary Care issues for “ La Revue Prescrire”, main French evidence based journal.
She is one of the founders and board member of the European Forum for Primary Care (EFPC) .
She was the French representative at WONCA (World Organisation for National Colleges and Academies in General Practice) and board member.
She holds a diploma in Tropical Medicine and is continuing a master in International Health at KIT (Royal Tropical Institute) member of the TropEd group of institutes.
She holds a diploma of “team coaching” from the university Paris Descartes.
She cooperated with CONAEMI (Mexican College for Integrated care) in various congresses.
She coordinated a health care program of UNHCR for Salvador refugees in the 80’s.

Maria Rejane Ferreira da Silva
University of Pernambuco,
Recife, Brasil

Dr. Oscar Arteaga
Director
School of Public Health
University of Chile

Dr. Amparo Mogollón
Escuela de Medicina y Ciencias de la Salud
Universidad del Rosario, Bogota

Dr. Agustín Lara Esqueda
Secretario de Salud de Colima
Mexico

Dr. Jorge Eduardo Mendoza Mezquita
Secretario de Salud de Yucatán
Mexico

Dr. Jesús Felipe González Roldan
Director General de Centro Nacional de
Programas Preventivos y Control de Enfermedades

Maria Luisa Vazques
Head Research and Development
Consortium for Health Care and Social Services of Catalonia

Fiona Lyne
Director of Communications
International Foundation for Integrated Care (IFIC)

In 2014, Fiona joined the International Foundation for Integrated Care as Director of Communications. Fiona is responsible for developing the overall brand, marketing and communication strategy for the Foundation including membership development. She leads on various projects including Project INTEGRATE, the Annual International Integrated Care Conference Series and the World Congresses.

Fiona has worked in public policy communications since 2003. She began her career as a community stakeholder engagement manager at Fingal County Council in North Dublin supporting the local Community and Voluntary Forum to have an impact on local decision-making bodies. She went on to hold various project co-ordination and communication roles in both the public and private sector including periods with NHS North West London and the Royal Society of Arts. In 2010 she joined the King’s Fund, an internationally renowned healthcare policy think tank, as Head of Events and in subsequent years was responsible for moving the Fund into a leading position in the healthcare conference market.

Fiona has a BA in Politics and Economics from the University of Limerick, an MA in Community Development and Stakeholder Engagement from the National University of Ireland, Galway and a Diploma in Management from the Dublin Business School.

Lourdes Ferrer
Director of Programs
International Foundation for Integrated Care (IFIC)

Lourdes Ferrer is Director of Programs at the International Foundation for Integrated Care (IFIC). Lourdes joined IFIC from the International Journal of Integrated Care (IJIC), where she led as Managing Editor for the journal for 2 years. During that period Lourdes lead the journal to acquire its first official impact factor and to increase the amount of publications/submissions by 50 %. She has extensive experience of supporting people from different areas of knowledge and practice to connect and find common ground and/or new understandings.

Lourdes is a qualified doctor and her previous roles include Special Adviser for the Ministry of Health in El Salvador for health systems transformation and for the extension of health coverage to hard-to-reach populations. Lourdes leads the scientific development of the IFIC Annual Conferences and Congresses, supports research and development projects in partnership with Public Health England and WHO, and supports the Integrated Care Academy © and the further development of the IJIC.

Dr Albert Alonso
Innovations Director
Hospital Clinic Barcelona

Dr Albert Alonso is a senior researcher at the Innovation Directorate, Hospital Clinic Barcelona. Albert holds a PhD in Medicine and a post graduate degree on Management and Organisation of Information Systems. He has been a main contributor to the development integrated care services at Hospital Clinic and the area served by the hospital. At present, he is involved in Project Integrate that benchmarks existing approaches to integrated care models in Europe. Albert is vice-chair and secretary of the International Foundation for Integrated Care (IFIC) and member and active participant in the action group B3 on Integrated Care (EIP-AHA).

Professor David Perkins
Director, Centre for Rural and Remote Mental Health (CRRMH)
University of Newcastle, Australia

Professor David Perkins is currently Director and Professor of Rural Health Research at the Centre for Rural and Remote Mental Health, The University of Newcastle, Australia.

David’s research interests concern primary health care systems in rural and remote settings with a particular interest in mental health services. He has led research focused on providing empirical evidence to inform policy and implementation of mental health service delivery for rural and remote areas. He is a member of the NSW Minister’s Advisory Committee on Rural Health and a board member of the International Foundation for Integrated Care.

David is editor in chief of the Australian Journal of Rural Health and an editor of the International Journal of Integrated Care. He was chair of the 2nd World Congress of Integrated Care held in Sydney in November 2014.

Dr Galileo Pérez-Hernández
President
National College of Integrated Medicine (CONAEMI)
Mexico

Dr. Pérez-Hernández holds a medical degree from the Metropolitan Autonomous University (Mexico), as well as a Postgraduate Training of Health Management from the National Institute of Public Health in Mexico. He completed an Integrated Medicine residency, a novel and innovative residency program which is supported by 19 Mexican universities and it combines rigorous clinical training and the study of Integrated Care.

Dr. Pérez-Hernández is an Honorary Professor of Integrated Medicine at the Faculty of Health Science of Anahuac University, which is developing research in health care models and projects of medical education. He is the founder and chairman of the National College of Integrated Medicine (CONAEMI), a leading organization in education and research in Latin America.

Dr. Pérez-Hernández is a young leader in Integrated Care who served at the Ministry of Health of Mexico in the National Center of Preventive Programs and Control Diseases (CENAPRECE) which has worked on the UNEME EC project, a national initiative to fight Non Communicable Diseases.

As a clinician he centered his experience on integrated care for people with complex and chronic conditions, diabetes, heart diseases, mental health, addictions, tuberculosis and AIDS.

He has collaborated for several years with international organizations of academic health professions, institutions and organizations promoting equity in health through community-oriented education, research and service. Most recently, he served as Associate Editor of International Journal of Integrated Care.

Shelley Frost
Chair
General Practice New Zealand

Shelley is the Chair of General Practice New Zealand (GPNZ), the national organisation of primary care networks. She is also Deputy Chair of New Zealand’s Health Quality and Safety Commission and a board member of the International Foundation for Integrated Care.

A Registered Nurse with over thirty years’ experience in general practice and primary care, she recently stepped down from the role of Director of Nursing of Pegasus Health, a large primary care network organisation in Christchurch. She has since joined the Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners (RNZCGP) as Quality Clinical Advisor.

Shelley currently holds a number of further strategic leadership and clinical governance roles including Executive Director (Nursing) of General Practice New Zealand, Joint Steering Group for the Integrated Performance and Incentive Framework, General Practice Leaders Forum and Patients First Steering Group.

She is a past Deputy Chair of the Canterbury District Health Board Clinical Board and member of the Canterbury Clinical Network Alliance Leadership Team.

Dr. Tomás Barrientos Fortes
Director
Faculty of Health Science
Anahuac University

Dr. Barrientos is a regional leader in the field of healthcare education and medical innovation. He is the Dean Faculty of Health Sciences, Anahuac University in México since 1999 and former president of the International Association of Faculties of Medicine. As Dean, Dr. Barrientos reconceptualized the mission of the school; diversified a large portfolio of research; launched a comprehensive educational reform effort including the implementation of Integrated Medicine Residency, an innovative program that combines rigorous clinical training and the study of Integrated Care. As a surgeon and health management specialist, he has served in several clinical and management positions in the private and public health sector in Mexico and the United States.

Gloria Margarita Quiñones Gamboa
Founder and Director
CONAEMI

Gloria has a Medical degree from the Anahuac Mayab University in 2006. She also has a training Course in Prevention of Chronic Degenerative Diseases, fitness and adherence to treatment Officially Certified by the Institute National of Public Health in July 2007.

Gloria completed a residency in Integrated Medicine, a new training program that is aimed at the management and delivery of Health Services in 2008.

Gloria is the Founder and Director of The Association of Integrated Medicine (CONAEMI), a leading education and research organization in Latin America.

Gloria work’s in Emergency Medical Adult Service at General Hospital Dr. Agustin O´Horan. Yucatan Health Services since June 2008.
Gloria is a member of the subcommittee on Education, Training and Research Health Services Yucatan, Commitment to staff training in knowledge, humanism and ethical sense of medical practice.
Gloria is an Honorary Professor of Integrative Medicine and Medical Fields at the Anahuac University since June 2013.

Gloria is now working as Link Medical Coordinator in The Institute of Security and Social Services for States Workers (ISSSTE) and also Responsible for program management and strategic planning since February 2015.

Dr Osvaldo Artaza
International consultant
Health Systems and Services
Pan American Health Organization (PAHO).

Dr. Artaza is a physician and pediatric cardiologist from the University of Chile, where he also received his MBA. He was appointed Minister of Health in President Ricardo Lagos’ Cabinet in 2002, and for 16 years he served as a director of the Luis Calvo Mackenna Children’s Hospital. He is an expert in health care administration, hospital management and health policies, and since 2012 has worked in Mexico as an international consultant in Health Systems and Services at the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO).

Dr Sebastián García Saisó
General Director of Quality and Education
Secretariat of Health of Mexico

Dr. Garcia holds a medical degree from the National Autonomous University of Mexico, a Master of Science in Health Policy Planning and Financing from the London School of Economics and Political Science and a Master of Science in Health Policy from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. He has served at the Ministry of Health of Mexico in different positions, his contributions has been especially relevant in the Sub Ministry of Integration and Development of the Health Sector. Currently he is the General Director of Quality and Education.

Begona Sagastuy
National Consultant
Panamerican Health Organization

Armando Ahued Ortega
Secretario de Salud
Del Distrito Federal