Overview: Health policy and academic health centers

In this issue of Academic Medicine, a distinguished group of experts present their views of specific health policy issues and share their ideas on how the leaders and teachers in academic medicine can help study and move health policy in the areas they discuss. Each author identifies problem areas and suggests the role of academic health centers in the application of findings to patients and society through a variety of strategies. The themes are remarkably consistent: the need for academic medicine to collect and disseminate data on best practices, to create and use guidelines to reduce practice variations to foster greater patient safety and reduce health disparities, to use evidence-based formularies, improve efficiency (e.g., offering models for administrative waste reduction), and to improve the appropriateness of tests and visits. Many of the recommendations apply to all of medicine but also are highly applicable to academic health centers, such as suggesting that they take the lead demonstrating potential improvements in the malpractice system, and promoting prompt disclosure and earlier settlements. Some apply directly to academic health centers: they should provide telemedicine to rural areas, educate more members of underrepresented minorities, improve patient safety in clinical research protocols, and initiate clinical trials on new treatments directed specifically at complex patients. Finally, the authors in this issue emphasize academic medicine's crucial role in advocacy at the federal and state levels to create optimal health policies for the nation.