Welcome from the President, Prof Jeffrey Braithwaite

May I offer a cordial invitation to all those intending to come to Seoul, Republic of Korea, in August 2023 for ISQua’s 39th International Conference. 

May I offer a cordial invitation to all those intending to come to Seoul, Republic of Korea, in August 2023 for ISQua’s 39th International Conference. As they say in Korea, 대한민국 방문을 진심으로 환영합니다!, or a “Welcome to our country!”

For those of you who have been to an ISQua conference before, or those of us who have been many times previously, you will already know how energising, inspiring and motivational these annual events are. I’ve seen the early drafts of the programme, and I can share with you that this year’s event in Seoul is going to be outstanding. In short, this is the quality and safety in healthcare event of the year. You won’t want to miss it!

In issuing this invitation on behalf of all of us at ISQua, to those who are coming to engage with new horizons in quality and safety, and contribute a presentation, poster, or workshop, I want to thank our Korean partners who helped us make this event possible – The Korean Society for Quality in Health Care (KoSQua), Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service (HIRA), and the Korea Institute for Healthcare Accreditation (KOIHA).

We have some ways for you to save money. Early-bird rates are available until 7th June. Become an ISQua Member and save even more. Book now to avoid disappointment.

There is so much exciting knowledge to be shared. Check out the programme, now available on the website.

In summary, we have an inspiring 4-day event including workshops, keynote speakers, and eight concurrent sessions and tracks from which to choose. Our pre-conference workshops on Sunday, 27th August, have specific sessions on:

  • External Evaluation,
  • Patient Reported Outcomes Measures,
  • How Might Technology Innovation Support Coproduction?
  • The Learning Health System – implications for Quality of Care and
  • Quality Improvement Workshop.

Many countries are already involved with this ISQua conference. It is already proving extremely popular with participants from Taiwan, Australia, The United Kingdom, Europe, The Republic of Korea, India, Singapore, the USA, and China.

We also have more: 

  • longer sessions to enjoy (a total of 35, from 16 different countries).
  • exciting short talks (a total of 117, from 39 different countries).
  • lightning talks, posters, networking receptions, lunchtime sessions, catch-ups with speakers, meetings with ISQua board members, and much more!

For those who want to add to their knowledge about their own health system by comparing it to what’s going on in the excellent Korean health system, you can sign up for pre-and post-conference tours.

As you register, you will see that the entire programme will be available on our conference app. The app will be available for download in July. It’s an excellent source to help you navigate through the four days to make the best conference for you, purpose-designed to fit your educational needs.

Ahead of the conference, too, I’d like to thank all our sponsors and exhibitors. You are an integral part of our family and have already helped prepare for the conference to be the success that we know it will be.

It remains for me to thank all delegates in advance for attending. I look forward to seeing you there, as does the ISQua community, including our Board, governance committees, staff, Academicians, members, stakeholders and partners.

Finally, keep an eye on the ISQua conference webpage for further announcements as you plan your visit to Seoul and participation in the conference. All information is available here.

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Nourhan Kawtharani


Nourhan, a quality and safety coordinator with eight years of experience in ambulatory healthcare in Lebanon, aims to deepen her understanding of the systemic and holistic approach to healthcare through this fellowship.

She aims to identify gaps and develop tailored interventions that address specific contexts rather than applying general solutions. Engaging with diverse professionals and perspectives during this educational journey will expand the application of these concepts across different cultural settings.

Nourhan emphasizes the importance of promoting a culture of continuous learning and improvement within healthcare institutions, considering it a vital leadership responsibility to integrate quality and safety initiatives into the organizational culture.

Nourhan's commitment to patient safety and quality management includes sourcing practical resources and transforming insights into actionable knowledge to drive continued progress in healthcare practices and outcomes.

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Elom Otchi


Elom is passionate about improving quality of care and patient safety outcomes.

In view of this, he has had the opportunity to work in various capacities with various organisations including AfIHQSA, WHO, UNICEF and others undertaking research, supporting the development of national quality policies and strategies, facilitating the establishment of quality governance systems across all the levels of the health sector and building capacity of national and sub-national quality leads/teams to institutionalize the practice of quality and patient safety across the continent.

He has also worked extensively across all levels of care in the health sector of Ghana, including leading the Quality & Patient Safety program in its largest teaching hospital.

I would like to use this Fellowship as a learning platform and an opportunity to acquire the requisite knowledge, skills and competencies to complement ongoing efforts by like-minded individuals and organizations to continuously advance improve the quality and patient safety in Ghana and the continent.

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Stephen Taiye Balogun


Stephen is a Senior Programme Officer at the Institute of Human Virology in Nigeria as well as Country Representative for Health Information for All (HIFA).

Stephen plans to use this opportunity to maximise his impact by championing the cause of patient safety and quality in Nigeria and across Africa.

Stephen says "Quality and safety is a major wheel through which universal healthcare coverage can be achieved. The goal is to be a bridge in the gap between the International Quality Improvement and Patient Safety community and my country to ensure rapid spread, adoption, implementation and practice."

We are looking forward to working with both Stephen and our 2020 winner Rhoda Kalondu over the next year.

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Dr Rhoda Kalondu


Rhoda is the Head of the Patient Safety Unit at Kenyatta Hospital in Nairobi and wants to use this Fellowship to learn how to establish a culture of safety and develop systems for assessment and analysis at her institution, and more widely. As well as this, Rhoda intends to develop and execute an intervention to improve patient safety in Kenyatta National Hospital.

It is one thing to institute measures and processes for improvement, but quite another to change the culture of an environment. Rhoda's ambition to lead others in this change inspired the panel.

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Dr Subhrojyoti Bhowmick


I am an MBBS graduate from Calcutta University with a Gold Medal in Gynecology & Obstetrics.

I have completed M.D in Pharmacology from IPGME& R, Kolkata and have over 12 years of experience in the field of Clinical Research, Pharmacovigilance and Medication management in Hospitals.

I have completed certification in Clinical Research Administration & Project Management from Stanford University, USA and in Patient Safety from Johns Hopkins University, USA.

I am an Assessor for National Accreditation Board for Hospitals & Health care providers (NABH), India assessing hospitals for medication safety and clinical quality standards and NABH Assessor for Ethics Committee Accreditation program in India as well.

I serve as the Chairperson, Institutional Ethics Committee of Health Point Hospital, Kolkata and am associated with 2 other Hospital ethics committees as a member.

I finished my Fellowship in Healthcare Quality from the International Society of Quality in Healthcare (ISQua) from Ireland in 2017.

I have published several research articles and have also authored a chapter on “Regulations governing Clinical Trial” in the book “Fundamentals of Clinical Trial & Research”.

I am a peer reviewer for prestigious international journals like the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology, CNS Drugs and Drug Safety case reports.

I am the recipient of the UK Seth Oration Award for Best Clinical Pharmacology paper by the Indian Pharmacological Society in 2009 and the “Most promising Healthcare professional in Patient Safety in India” award by the Asian African Chamber of Commerce and Industry in October 2018.

Recently in April 2019, I received the Young Quality Achiever award by Consortium of Accredited Healthcare Organizations (CAHO), India for 2019 for my work in the field of medication safety and clinical research.

I have a keen interest in teaching and am visiting adjunct faculty of Pharmacology at KMC, Mangalore, India and for Healthcare technology at MAKAUT, Kolkata, India.

I was associated with Stanford University School of Medicine, in the USA as a Senior Clinical Research Associate from 2015 to 2017 and have certification in Biostatistics, Evidence-based Medicine and Medical Writing from Stanford University.

Currently, I am working as the Clinical Director of Academics, Medical Quality and Clinical Research at Peerless Hospital and B K Roy Research Centre, Kolkata.

I am very happy and thrilled to receive the prestigious ISQua Lucian Leape Patient safety Fellowship Award for 2019 and I look forward to honing my skills further in the field of healthcare quality and patient safety through my experiences during this fellowship.

I sincerely believe that successful completion of this fellowship will help me evolve as a more confident Patient safety leader in India who in turn can provide significant inputs on policy changes through NABH for the Indian healthcare system.

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