What I did this summer . . . . For a group of residents and
medical students, Tufts Health Care Institute developed two
introductory programs, featuring outstanding faculty and including
real-world experience.
In August 1999, 19 residents from seven different programs
participated in the second annual THCI/Tufts Health Plan (THP)
Managed Care Rotation, a collaborative effort supported in part by a grant
from Hoechst Marion Roussel, that included a week-long program
at THP.
"We are giving residents an opportunity to peer inside the `black box'
of a managed care organization," notes Jeffrey Levin-Scherz, MD,
THCI associate medical director and THP vice president and corporate
medical director. "Many of them come in knowing little of what we do.
This rotation week allowed them to ask Tufts Health Plan staff and
outside faculty some tough questions in order to learn how a health
plan really works."
Levin-Scherz developed the curriculum with THCI and with substantial
input from THP faculty. Specific
learning objectives were created for each topic. In one session,
residents attended a mock utilization management meeting; in another
they learned about the evolution of mental health benefits
within managed care.
Joseph Gravel, MD, program director for the Tufts University
Family Practice residency at Hallmark Health System, says the
third-year residents who attended the rotation told him that every resident in
the U.S. should have access to such a course. "The residents all
commented how the experience was so practical and greatly clarified
managed care for them. My hope is that this rotation can be a permanent
part of our curriculum," says Gravel.
THCI's collaboration with the American Medical Student
Association (AMSA) for the second year brought nine students to Boston for the
eight-week AMSA/THCI Managed Care Fellowship Program. "The goal of
the program, which is funded by the Department of Health and
Human Services' Health Resources and Services Administration, is to
expose the students to managed care issues through education in a
classroom setting as well as in sites where they can see managed care at work," says
Jennifer Coplon, PhD, THCI director of managed care programs,
who coordinated the program. "These experiences help to shape
their future medical careers."
The medical students were eager to immerse themselves in a
managed care environment, says Mark Bloomberg, MD, MBA, president
of The Bloomberg Health Care Group, who served as course director.
"They have the opportunity to work with people who are supportive of and
very knowledgeable about managed care," says Bloomberg. "As a result,
it really opens up their minds."
Andrew Bergman, MHS, THP director of quality management,
presented a dynamic classroom session on how quality is
defined from a range of perspectives. "We know that consumers
consider choice, access and good communication important aspects of
quality," said Bergman, adding that physicians and employers tend to see
it differently. "When we look at quality," says Bergman, "we need
to balance the interests of all parties."
The students also were assigned as part of the fellowship to an
area health center or health plan (for example, five of the students
were assigned to THP), where each developed a research project
that was presented on the final day of the program. Greg Oleksy of
The Medical College of Wisconsin had a field placement at the East
Boston Neighborhood Health Center (EBNHC), where he developed
a color-coded, one-page formulary that effectively provides physicians
with essential drug information.
"Every doctor at East Boston Neighborhood Health Center will now
be working off the formulary sheet Greg created," said James Taylor,
MD, EBNHC medical director.
Mary Lee, MD, THCI director of faculty development and
Tufts Medical School dean for educational affairs, sent the students off with
a challenge. "You've gained a perspective that gives you an
added edge," Lee said. "You're in a
position to make a difference, to develop ideas that will move our health
care system in the right direction."
 | Nancy Leaming, president and chief
operating officer
at Tufts Health Plan,
energized residents on the
importance of leadership in
reaching organizational goals. |
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