Report calls for more patient safety
training at medical schools
A new report from the Lucian Leape Institute found that U.S. medical
schools need to do a better job of training students in patient
safety. The AAMC and many of its member institutions were part of
roundtable discussions that developed the report "Unmet
Needs: Teaching Physicians to Provide Safe Patient Care." Since
2001, the AAMC has been leading efforts to improve the training
and instruction medical students receive in patient safety throughout
their education. In a statement,
AAMC President and CEO Darrell G. Kirch, M.D., said that a substantial
number of medical schools are already teaching some aspect of patient
safety or are in the process of adopting the recommendations made
in the Leape Institute report. He also noted that more can be done.
"Medical education must always be a dynamic, evolving process-because
better doctors mean better care," said Dr. Kirch.
JAMA commentary by AAMC president
focuses on reform through HIZs
AAMC President and CEO Darrell G. Kirch, M.D., has authored a commentary
in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) on "The
Healthcare Innovation Zone: A Platform for True Reform." The
article discusses the use of Healthcare Innovation Zones (HIZs)
as a way to foster meaningful health care reform. HIZs are programs
that consist of collaborations among academic medical centers, physicians,
hospitals, and other partners designed to control costs and provide
coordinated care.
Senate passes physician payment relief, expands
eligibility for HIT incentives
The Senate adopted legislation that would extend the current freeze
on 2010 Medicare physician payments to Oct. 1. The extension was
passed as part of the American
Workers, State, and Business Relief Act of 2010. The House must
also approve the legislation to prevent a 21 percent reduction in
Medicare physician payments beginning April 1. The Senate-passed
measure also contains AAMC-supported provisions that would expand
the range of physicians who may be eligible for the Medicare and
Medicaid health information technology (HIT) incentive payments
established under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
AAMC sponsors grant program for Cover the
Uninsured Week
This is the fifth year the AAMC has sponsored a grant program,
administered by the association's Organization of Student Representatives
(OSR), to fund Cover the
Uninsured Week (CTUW) activities by medical students. With health
care reform hanging in the balance, this year's CTUW, March 14-20,
provides citizens with a timely opportunity to raise awareness about
the 46 million people who lack health insurance. Ten
medical schools have been awarded funding to organize activities
on their campuses and in their local communities. Cover the Uninsured
has been a national effort by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
since 2002.
AAA releases guidelines for body donation
programs
The American Association of Anatomists (AAA) has for the first
time released guidelines
for programs accepting the donation of bodies for education and
biomedical research. The guidelines cover the minimum requirements
for any Willed Body Program.
On the Move
Rod Markin, M.D., Ph.D., has been named interim dean of the University
of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) College of Medicine effective
July 1. Markin is the David T. Purtilo Distinguished Professor of
Pathology and senior associate dean for clinical affairs in the
college of medicine. He will continue to serve as president of UNMC
Physicians. After seven years of service, John Gollan, M.D., Ph.D.,
dean of the college of medicine, will step down on June 30 and return
to the internal medicine faculty.
Tedd Mitchell, M.D., has been named the sole finalist for the position
of president of Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center. He
is president and chief executive officer of the Cooper Clinic in
Dallas.
