A curriculum in systems-based care: experiential learning changes in student knowledge and attitudes.

Background: To provide efficient, quality patient care, physicians must have a fundamental understanding of how the health care delivery system functions and how to appropriately use the various components of this system. As part of the Undergraduate Medical Education for the 21st Century (UME-21) initiative, the University of Miami in partnership with AvMed Health Plans, a nonprofit managed care organization (MCO) developed a longitudinal educational program that prepares all students for medical practice in emerging systems of care.

Methods: The program, which spans the 4-year undergraduate curriculum, incorporates didactic sessions and practical experiences to teach about the clinical, managerial, financial, and ethical aspects of systems-based care.

Practicing effectively in today's health system: teaching systems-based care.

Background And Objectives: The Institute of Medicine and the new Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education General Essentials have focused attention on the Undergraduate Medical Education for the 21st Century (UME-21) core content area of systems-based care. Through teaching systems-based care, medical students can learn how physicians effectively deliver and coordinate care within the health system. While medical students can be introduced to the organization, financing, and delivery of the health care system through lectures, the principles and practice of systems-based care must be reinforced through structured learning experiences during the clinical (ie, third and fourth) years.

The hypertension management program: identifying opportunities for improvement.

To date, relatively few programs have been evaluated that were designed to affect the clinical practice patterns of primary care physicians who treat patients with hypertension. In particular, studies that have evaluated blood pressure control as a clinical outcome before and after an intervention are lacking. The Hypertension Management Program, developed by Applied Health Outcomes, is a quality improvement program designed to improve the medical management of hypertension in population-based health care settings.