Source: http://clsi.org/news/enews/

CLSI (Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute) Chief Executive Officer, Glen Fine, MS, MBA, CAE, and Director of Global Health Partnerships, Connie Adams, visited seven major Chinese cities in 10 days in August 2014. The trip was coordinated with Zhongshan (Sun Yat-sen) University Daan Health Group, a CLSI member, to promote the use of CLSI’s global laboratory standards in China, build lasting business relationships, and assess two community health center laboratories in the Guangdong province. A proper quality management system was implemented in these two laboratories in 2013 as part of a government-approved and government-funded pilot project conducted by Zhongshan (Sun Yat-sen) University Daan Health Group, the key undertaker of the project, to enhance the quality and management of community health services.

The trip helped CLSI staff to better understand international market dynamics and the use of internationally accepted standards, and learn about the political and economic drivers of China’s government-mandated national health care reforms. These reforms include improving health care at the primary care level, delivering health care access to more Chinese citizens living in vast rural areas, and implementing internationally accepted standards to provide consistent quality of care.

This trip showcased CLSI as a partner for China’s use of CLSI standards and in-country evaluations of quality systems improvement at community health center hospitals and outpatient clinics. Mr. Fine and Ms. Adams highlighted and explained the opportunities for CLSI’s Global Health Partnerships technical assistance and training that could be applicable in China at the national, provincial, and local levels.
Through this 10-day trip, Mr. Fine and Ms. Adams demonstrated that CLSI is a highly respected organization the Chinese government can collaborate with to help implement key aspects of their national health care reform strategy as well as distribute and encourage the use of internationally accepted laboratory standards. CLSI believes this will further promote our mission to develop clinical and laboratory practices and promote their use worldwide.