Another Model for Giving

Most of the global healthcare issues facing us-from expanding access to care, to providing medical and dental care in the aftermath of disasters-are far too complex for any single sector to successfully solve. Industry, the healthcare profession, government, academia and non‐governmental organizations (NGOs) are all limited in their scope and their ability to effectively address the necessary challenges of these multifaceted issues. It is only though public-private partnerships, in which the participants contribute resources and skills for which they individually are best suited, that true progress can be made in affecting change. In addition, every effort should be made to expand the pool of participants for these partnerships, including small and mid‐sized organizations that may be inclined to help, but lack the experience or the infrastructure to initiate programs on their own. As the largest distributor of healthcare products and services to office‐based practitioners in the combined North American and European markets, Henry Schein, Inc., is uniquely positioned to use its association with thousands of healthcare product manufacturers and its day‐to‐day relationships with more than 550,000 healthcare practices around the world to catalyze awareness of and support for important healthcare issues. Through Henry Schein's model for giving, the Company has been successful in forging new partnerships among industry, the healthcare profession, government, academia and NGOs, and in expanding existing ones to help meet the healthcare challenges facing us all. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc. and the American Pharmacists Association J Pharm Sci 97:5084-5088, 2008