THE TUFTS PARTNERSHIP FOR MANAGED CARE EDUCATION

The authors describe the formation and the academic activities of The Tufts Managed Care Institute, a collaborative venture of Tufts Univers ity School of Medicine and Tufts Health Plan, an independent-practice- association (IPA)-model health maintenance organization (HMO). In 1994 , the dean of the medical school and the CEO of the HMO recognized the need for collaboration to prepare students and practitioners for high -quality, cost-effective practice in a managed care environment. They established an advisory committee to oversee a six-month feasibility s tudy to interview experts and opinion leaders and identify critical ch aracteristics of the ideally prepared managed care practitioner. In 19 95, with start-up funding from the HMO, the institute began its operat ions as a freestanding enterprise with board representation from the t wo sponsoring institutions. While many of the institute's program have been developed for practicing physicans and other health care profess ionals, this article focuses on the academic activities. For medical s tudents, the approach has been to blend managed care principles and pr actices into existing courses, problem-based learning cases, and clerk ships, rather than creating separate managed care courses. For primary care residents, the institute has a grant to develop managed care cur ricula in conjuction with Tufts-affiliated residency training programs . Faculty development is accomplished through dedicated workshops and seminars, and through increased dialogue between traditional faculty a nd managed care professionals. In all of its programs and activities t he institute has fostered greater contact and collaboration between co lleagues from both sides of the health plan-academia ''divide.'' Opera tionally, the institute strcture, with dedicated full-time administrat ive staff, provides the singular focus necessary to establish managed care education as a top priority for the partnership. At the same time , sustaining this freestanding organization and infrastructure require s increased resources. Initial responses to the institute's programs a nd activities have been positive, both from the local Tufts community and from external parties. Yet the partnership must establish methods to evaluate the institute's long-term impact in its efforts to help pr actitioners succeed in a transforming landscape.