A World View

While in a car ride with a surgeon from Germany, we talked a lot about the challenges he faced when it comes to taking care of bariatric patients. You often hear tales of how medical care is different in other places in the world—both positive and negative. I actually found a lot more similarities than contrasts, especially in his passion for great care and quest for best practices. In every aspect of our conversation, it was as if he were recounting something I had encountered just that very week. It did not take me long to realize how much we can learn from our colleagues around the globe.

It is appropriate that this issue covers so much from around the world. With the help of Drs. Haris Khwaja from the United Kingdom and Tom Rogula of the Cleveland Clinic, who organized the International Bariatric Club Symposia held in Istanbul, the Journal was able to capture some game-changing discussions and debates from the best minds in the business. Also, when we looked at the papers included in this issue, we were charmed that works from Sweden, The Netherlands, and the United Kingdom, are represented (this was not premeditated).

This brings me to my point. With this issue, many people around the world will be ushering in a new year. This journal is privileged to be the platform for so many professionals to exchange information. While these professionals are of different medical and cultural backgrounds, the underpinning identity of every person is that they are uniquely qualified to help another human being. If the Journal can better connect you to some place you know less about, and help you see that they are capable of quality work and offer new information, it is doing its job. On the American front, the new healthcare law of the land went into effect on October 1. Central to these laws are best practices for our patients, and hence the need for high performance teams to share how they achieve best outcomes cannot be more urgent. Again, the goal of the Journal serves this purpose by bringing worthwhile experiences from anywhere in the world on the same page, so that one can read something in an afternoon and improve their practice the very next day.

I hope your 2013 allowed you to make a difference, and I wish you a wonderful New Year.