We were delighted to host Dr Peter Lachman for the second episode in the ISQua Podcast series, and the very first ISQua Ask the Expert session. The topic for this episode was: “Is safety our business? If so, what do we need to do to be successful?”

This is the second of three blogs on my travels to Latin America in late May – early June. The visit to the enchanting city of Cartagena in Colombia, for the Regional ISQua conference, was illuminating. 

We were delighted to host Dr Daljit Hothi and Dr John Brennan for the very first episode in the ISQua Podcast series. This podcast is about Learning Journeys which feature as part of this year’s ISQua Conference Programme in Cape Town.

We are using every opportunity to publicise and promote the ISQua Conference 2019 in Cape Town. I had the privilege of chairing the Quality Management Conference at the Africa Health Congress in Johannesburg on 29 and 30 May. Both COHSASA and ISQua partnered with Informa for the conference, so there was lots of publicity for ISQua, Cape Town 2019. The theme was ‘Public or private health care – quality is everyone’s business.

We are seeking nominations for the 2019 Health Assessment Lab/Medical Outcomes Trust* John Ware and Alvin Tarlov Career Achievement Prize in Patient Reported Outcomes Measures (PROMs), which includes a $20,000 honorarium.

The sixth annual Quality in Healthcare Conference hosted by the Agency for Quality and Accreditation in Health of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (AKAZ) took place on December 20^th and 21^st in Sarajevo.  The title this year was “BiH in the EU: Quality as Key to Joining the Circle of the Best.”

In 1985, I was one of a small group of people who were invited to a conference in Udine, Italy, with sponsorship from the World Health Organization (WHO), to explore the growing interest in measuring and improving the quality of healthcare services. One result of that meeting was the formation of a new professional association---the International Society for Quality Assurance in Healthcare. I had the pleasure of serving as a board member of that fledgeling organization for nine years, including serving as its president from 1989 to 1991.

The following are the ISQua 2018 Conference Closing Remarks provided by President Wendy Nicklin. For those who attended and for those unable to attend, this speech provides an overview of some of the messages delivered during the 3 days of plenary sessions.