AI Magazine Issue 11 2018

12 Acquisition International - Issue 11 2018 In Vivo Academy is a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to providing accredited and independent medical education to healthcare professionals. Following her success as the Best Woman-Run Healthcare Education NPO – Australia, Lisa Sullivan revealed to us more about what the award means, and the work In Vivo Academy provides. feel quite humble to have received this award for a business that is so close to my heart. Medical education and its ability to improve patient care is absolutely paramount to everything we do at In Vivo. Developing and delivering healthcare education is important but only if we are achieving better health outcomes. I have been in the medical education space for a long time and have seen how our industry has grown and matured. However, to have been an integral part of that in Australia and in fact globally has been very enriching. As a woman owned and run not-for-profit business, awards such as these are important to encourage others coming behind and for those working with me to realise all the hard work and sacrifice one makes to achieve excellence has its rewards. Younger woman also need to recognise the glass ceiling is there to be smashed. I have always believed if you work hard enough, continually challenge yourself and remain true to the basic principles of respect, consideration and honesty at all times you will succeed. In Vivo Academy was established because I saw a growing need for medical education to be more outcomes focused and to work more closely with international supporters from the US and Europe, whose requirements exceeded what was generally delivered in Australia. Over the past five years, we have received grant support from some of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies and have collaborated with numerous medical societies and patient organisations to develop patient-centred education across the healthcare spectrum. We are fortunate to also have collaborated with various universities and other education providers for programmes across Australia and globally. The team here at In Vivo Academy are focused on the development and deployment of independent, evidence and outcomes-based education with patients at the centre of everything we do. I am also incredibly fortunate in having an extraordinarily talented team working with me whose exuberance and commitment have been and continue to be integral in the achievement of this award. Our strength stems from our diligence in our education process, starting with strong needs assessments from which we ascertain the gaps that need to be addressed and the outcomes that need to be achieved. If you develop education with the end Contact: Lisa Sullivan Company: In Vivo Academy Limited Address: PO Box 187 Strawberry Hills, NSW 2012, Australia Telephone: 0061 2 8017 2633 Web Address: www.invivoacademy.org Committed to Outcomes I WR180022 in mind, then you are working towards what needs to be done to improve patient care thus helping to focus the journey required to achieve this. In Vivo is recognised as having a strong heritage, as the group has been in business for over 20 years and has been an accredited provider to the Royal Australian College of GPs for most of that time. The medical education industry in Australia is quite mature and there are several for-profit organisations who do some excellent work in the field, but I think the most critical change that is coming to Australia and the world (outside the USA), is the concept of independent medical education (IME) such that supporters provide funds but do not have any involvement in content development or deployment. There are some pharmaceutical companies in Australia who are supporting small IME programmes, but predominantly funding from pharmaceuticals in Australia and most definitely in Asia is still based on the supporter being integrally involved in deciding and approving content. This is a process that the USA ceased some 10 years ago, and as more stringent rules come into place around healthcare providers receiving funding from pharmaceuticals, I believe the world will move more towards the IME concept. In Vivo has pioneered IME in Australia. The next decade for the medical education industry will see massive changes in how education is generated, how it is delivered (with a much greater emphasis on technology) and most importantly, how successful is it in bridging the gaps in learner knowledge, competence and performance and in improving patient’s lives. This will be a challenging decade, but one in which the creative change makers will thrive. Now that this award has been granted, I am hoping it will help showcase some of the great programmes we are planning and running so my team continually challenged as this is the environment in which they work best. I think we are good at what we do but I am keen to improve and to always strive to achieve improved patient outcomes in all our programming. Lastly, I can only thank AI for this award and for seeing the value in the role we play in what continues to be a critically important industry full of dedicated people all trying to improve the lives of every patient every day.