PHILADELPHIA INTERNATIONAL MEDICINE NEWS BUREAU
Contact: Leonard N. Karp
lkarp@philadelphiamedicine.com
215-735-3989
For Immediate Release:
Philadelphia - Philadelphia International Medicine (PIM), a consortium of nine hospitals in the Greater Philadelphia region, has signed a multi-year training contract with UNIMED, a Brazilian physician cooperative that includes a health plan, 14 hospitals and as many as 80,000 physician members.
The contract calls for Philadelphia International Medicine to train up to 37 physicians a year in hospital management skills by enrolling them in a two-year executive leadership program. Over the two years, the physicians will be expected to complete an 80-hour course, as well as participate in an MBA program in a Brazilian university. The Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics at the University of Pennsylvania and Fundacao Armando alvares Penteado - CECUR (FAAP) in Brazil are also parties to the contract.
"This is the beginning of a new link between the Greater Philadelphia and Brazilian medical communities that will continue to grow in new ways over the years. PIM is very pleased to enter into this relationship with one of Brazil's largest and most prestigious physician groups. We are already discussing ways to expand our relationship," said Andrew Wigglesworth, president and CEO of PIM.
During the two-year course, the physicians will spend approximately 80 hours with faculty from the Wharton School, as part of a customized executive management course developed by the Executive Education program at the Leonard Davis Institute (LDI). The students will also come to Philadelphia where they will also attend lectures provided by Wharton / LDI. In addition, the hospitals that make up PIM will become working labs and the students, all practicing physicians, will receive on-the-job insight from working administrators at the PIM hospitals.
UNIMED's CONFESP region near Sao Paulo, under the tenure of Antonio Alberto de Felicio, MD, president-director, has been working over the past 10 years to improve the quality and frequency of continuing medical education, and has become even more focused on the training of administrators and leaders.
"Partnerships have been created with the best institutions, always with the intent to lead towards the future, exercising the best practices with excellence in the area of health services," said Dr. Felicio. "We are very optimistic in our expectations and our efforts toward continuous improvement. We are sure we will be proud of our partnership with PIM, as well as PIM will be proud with their partnership with CONFESP."
The Greater Philadelphia region is a leader in the Global Life Sciences, with one of the largest concentrations of institutions of health care education, research, pharmaceutical production and patient care in the nation. The newest link with UNIMED in Sao Paulo, Brazil is another demonstration of the successful global outreach of the region's life sciences organizations.
The PIM hospitals include The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Crozer-Keystone Health System, Fox Chase Cancer Center, Magee Rehabilitation Hospital, MossRehab, Pennsylvania Hospital, Temple University Hospital, Thomas Jefferson University Hospital and the University of Pennsylvania Medical Center.
The first Wharton faculty will be traveling to Brazil in July to begin the project, and the first contingent of Brazilian physicians is due to arrive in Philadelphia in September.
Philadelphia International Medicine is an organization that provides medical and patient support services to international patients. It also provides continuing medical education and health care training and education to international physicians, administrators and other practitioners. As the international department of several Philadelphia-area hospitals, international patients gain access to physicians and hospitals rated among the best in the world through one telephone call to PIM. You can reach PIM by calling 1-215-735-3575; fax, 1-215-790-1267; or e-mail, physicians@philadelphiamedicine.com . You can find out more about PIM through its Website at www.philadelphiamedicine.com .
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