The immediate goal is to analyze the literature on undergraduate medical education costs over the past 30 years and identify various methodologies for estimating costs and faculty reimbursement. Activities to date have concentrated on the analysis of costs in ambulatory settings, but costs at the macro level are also being analyzed. That study documented that, although the medical school curriculum includes little explicit attention to topics related to managed care, medical students' clinical experiences include considerable indirect exposure to managed care and its effect on contemporary clinical practice. A national survey of medical schools will probe this issue more thoroughly in 1997, with special emphasis on medical education in IPA-type HMOs. A core curriculum that can be used in medical student and house staff education was developed by an interdisciplinary team of physicians, dentists, and other professionals.
Plans are underway to disseminate the results nationally.
The careers of students are being tracked throughout graduate medical education into professional practice. The system will be used to evaluate the impact of initiatives to increase the number of generalist physicians and to conduct research of interest to the medical schools. This study is nearing completion and will help to advise policy-makers on the steps that can be taken to enhance health care in rural areas, especially in Pennsylvania. Although earlier studies have reported that young physicians are not well-prepared for practice in managed care settings, the results of the survey will help to pinpoint some of their strengths and weaknesses. Overall it is planned that the designation of this national center will serve as an integrating force to focus research efforts within Jefferson, and that it will serve as a catalyst for new studies supported by a variety of agencies and foundations.