Interdisciplinary Workforce Legislation

10 women professors who reached a $4.65 million settlement with the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. They were systematically underpaid as male colleagues outpaced them in salary and promotions — year after year.

As pressure mounts on primary care providers to improve patient health and lower health care costs, delivery systems are looking to nurses to solve many of primary care’s most pressing challenges. Nurse practitioners (NPs) and certi!ed nurse-midwives (CNMs) are providing primary care alongside physicians and physician assistants. NPs and RNs are leading the way in managing chronic conditions and coordinating care transitions. RNs and licensed practical nurses are tracking patients to make sure they get the care they need, and nurses at all levels are educating patients to better care for themselves. This brief explores policies that support this evolution in primary care delivery and looks at several innovative models that provide patient-centered, coordinated, and cost-effective care by taking advantage of nursing’s strengths.

The purpose of the interprofessional coordinating center is to provide an infrastructure for leadership, expertise, and support to enhance the coordination and capacity building of IPECP among health professions across the U.S. and particularly in medically underserved areas.  Through innovative program coordination, scholarly activities, and analytic data collection efforts, the coordinating center will raise the visibility of high-quality, coordinated, team-based care that is well-informed by interprofessional education and best practice models.  The CC-IPECP will be a focal point in a growing national effort to foster IPECP among health professions.

"Georgia and the rest of the nation already have a general shortage of obstetricians, internists, pediatricians and family medicine doctors, especially in rural and urban areas. And things are getting worse. The Health Resources and Services Administration forecasts a shortage of 65,000 primary care physicians in the U.S. in 2020."

"In 2010, David Reuben wrote that if primary care was to be once again an attractive specialty to pursue, simply increasing the reimbursement levels would not be enough. Rather, the working conditions and job content would also have to change. A strong primary care workforce is crucial to improving the quality of care in this country and ensuring an economically sustainable system."

"Registration is now open for the 2012 Medical Education Futures Study (MEFS) conference, 'Beyond Flexner: Social Mission in Medical Education.'"

'"Collaborating Across Borders,' an international conference on interprofessional education (IPE) held in Tucson, Arizona from November 19-21, drew more than 750 attendees, including health care professionals, educators, policymakers and leaders in the field— the largest-ever gathering of experts on this topic."

"One of the major features of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is the idea of Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs). The final regulations from Medicare were issued in October, 2011, so the creation of ACOs seems to be moving forward. ACOs will be groups of primary care doctors, specialists, hospitals, and possible other providers who act together to provide comprehensive care, and receive either more money from Medicare (and probably, eventually, other payers) or, at least, smaller reductions in payments. The only thing that is definitely required to form an ACO is a group of primary care doctors, but since groups of primary care doctors rarely have sufficient capital to fund the necessary infrastructure, so it is likely that almost all will include at least one hospital."