April 6, 2001
Clarkson Testifies on Value of VA Affiliations, Research Program
John G. Clarkson, M.D., senior vice president for medical affairs and dean of the University of Miami School of Medicine, testified April 3 on behalf of the AAMC before the House Veterans' Affairs Subcommittee on Health on the critical importance of VA academic affiliations and the VA research program. The "academic affiliations are critical for both partners" stated Dr. Clarkson, "aside from the enriched patient care environment at the VA, both the educational and research programs of the medical schools are enhanced."
The hearing was the first called by new Chairman Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) and was broadly designed to address the state of the VA health care system. VA Under Secretary for Health Thomas Garthwaite, M.D., testified first, noting the Veterans Health Administration's strategies for achieving better quality. The VA's six strategies for improving quality are: putting quality first until they are first in quality; providing easy access to care and knowledge; enhancing, preserving, and restoring patient function; exceeding patient's expectations; maximizing resource use; and aiming to build healthy communities. Dr. Garthwaite also took time in his statement to note the value of the VA's research and training programs to recruit and retain high-quality researchers and faculty members to the VA health care system as well as their contribution to the continuous improvement of health care for veterans.
Dr. Clarkson's testimony focused on the VA's relationships with, and policies affecting, affiliated medical schools. He noted the shared missions of patient care, research and education and the symbiotic relationship that has evolved between VA and affiliated medical schools around these missions. Dr. Clarkson expressed the concerns of several medical school deans that relationships between the medical school leadership and the VISN directors vary from affiliation to affiliation, and that several affiliations are still experiencing growing pains following the VA's restructuring. Given the overall shift in the health care environment away from hospital-based treatment, Dr. Clarkson acknowledged that realignment of resources is necessary and inevitable. However, he testified that "because academic affiliates have longer term commitments…it is essential that adequate lead-time is built into any potential realignment proposals."
Information: Jonathan Fishburn, AAMC Office of Governmental Relations, 202-828-0525.
