title: Defining world-class care in academic medicine: enablers and challenges.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Interest has grown among U.S. academic medical centers in developing international benchmarks for excellence in process and outcomes. Drivers behind this trend, as well as barriers to the development of useful benchmarks, are explored in this invited commentary.
  
  
  METHODS
  The commentary is based on the authors' conversations with members of the U.S. Cooperative for International Patient Programs as well as the University Healthsystem Consortium (UHC).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Six key themes are summarized in this commentary, including four key drivers and two barriers.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The practice-based perspectives this commentary summarizes provide a useful starting point for researchers and practitioners interested in establishing international comparison with the United States.
authors.forename: Andrew N
authors.initials: AN
authors.lastname: Garman
authors.forename: Tricia J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Johnson
mesh_terms: D000046:Academic Medical Centers / Q000458:organization & administration*; D019985:Benchmarking; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D006298:Health Services Administration; D006302:Health Services Research; D006801:Humans; D038622:Internationality; D009937:Organizational Objectives; D010043:Outcome and Process Assessment, Health Care; D011785:Quality Assurance, Health Care; D014481:United States