VENUE LOCATION:
Cure by Deerfield345 Park Ave S, New York, NY 10010, USA
We will check your registration at the entrance. Please bring your ID. Ensuring Quality Global Health Through Independent Validation: CertificationTraining and independently validating proficiency of primary health clinicians through certification is in direct alignment with several United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Training and certification in healthcare enhances equity and access to care by upskilling primary clinicians and provides economic opportunity for both clinicians and health systems through local capacity building and partnerships. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) found that “eighty percent of global merchandise trade is influenced by testing and other measurement-related requirements of regulations and standards.” Standards through certification can also improve productivity and efficiency, increase economic competitiveness, and catalyze innovation.
SDG 3 states “Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages.” Expanding the number of clinicians that have been trained and certified to a maintained standard enhances the quality of care to a larger number of patients. As an example, the WHO Global Strategic Directions for Nursing and Midwifery 2021-2025 states the imperative to “educat[e] enough midwives and nurses with competencies to meet population health needs”. To reach the SDG 3 targets requires expansion of primary clinicians’ scope of practice through policy change and standardized guidelines, culminating in certification.
Goal 4 “Ensure[s] inclusive and equitable quality education and promote[s] lifelong learning opportunities for all.”
Goal 4.4 specifically requires “by 2030, substantially increase the number of youth and adults who have relevant skills, including technical and vocational skills, for employment, decent jobs and entrepreneurship.” Efforts must be grounded in Public-Private sector engagement within the health ecosystem, including (but not limited to) public and private hospital systems, education and training providers, Ministries of Health, Technical and Vocational Education and Training Authorities (TVET), and
Inteleos as an independent,
ISO-accredited global certifier.
A systems approach must prioritize technology to increase equitable access to education, training, and certification by offering both online and in-person training as well as online assessment and certification. Training and certification can scale via virtual and augmented reality and simulation, and standardized interoperable and verified credentials of proficiency can be recognized through blockchain or another verifiable trust layer. This also supports
Goal 9B: “Support domestic technology development, research and innovation in developing countries, including by ensuring a conducive policy environment for, inter alia, industrial diversification and value addition to commodities.”
Goal 5 calls to “Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls.” Many, though not all, health clinicians at the primary level are women. Focusing on these cadres for training and certification allows them to upskill, gain professional development and opportunities for increased salaries and leadership positions. With training, certification and devices, clinicians may have entrepreneurial opportunities to serve beneficiaries of care directly.
Goal 8 states: “Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all.” Local, national, and global financing entities can invest in standardizing healthcare, upskilling clinicians, and expanding human resources for health (HRH). Through an integrated and local approach of training in-country by local training entities, a fee-for-service model enables economic sustainability. Clinicians can also maintain larger train-the-trainer models, thus keeping economic gains in-country. Through innovative direct-to-patient platforms and apps that verify clinical credentials
[1] already in existence in Kenya and South Africa to name a few, clinicians can serve patients at home or in more rural areas, not only expanding care but also individual economic opportunities. There is a global healthcare ecosystem that can be economically driven towards the necessary advancement and impact outlined in the above Sustainable Development Goals. Independent validation of proficiency through certification is the key to ensure quality assurance and, ultimately continued progress of the Goals by 2030 and beyond.
[1] https://www.ponea.com/ and
https://www.quromedical.co.za/ as examples
