The AAHC works closely with its members through Executive Leadership Groups (ELGs), comprising key members of academic health center leadership teams. Through specialized workshops, communications, and meetings coordinated by the AAHC, members of the ELGs network, collaborate, and share their expertise and experiences to address issues of concern with their peers nationwide. The ELGs strive for thought leadership on strategic issues while developing best practices as they work with the AAHC toward the common goal of promoting the academic health center enterprise to enhance the nation’s health and well-being.
The purpose of the Forum on Regulation is to open a national dialogue on how regulatory processes impact the nation's academic health centers. Forum members examine ways to foster development of appropriate regulatory compliance frameworks for universities and the nation.
The Legal Counsel ELG provides a venue for idea exchange and dialogue on legal issues specific to general counsels of academic health centers. Members share best practices/cases with regard to a broad array of legal issues while fostering connectivity and inter-institutional collaboration.
The Senior Administrative/Fiscal Officers (SAFO) are dedicated to increasing communication and information sharing on key financial and administrative issues relevant to academic health centers. SAFO members meet annually to discuss common issues, network and share best practices.
The mission of the Vice Presidents for Research is to share best practices with regard to research issues, structures, management, and organization. Members learn examine the roles and responsibilities of VPs within the academic health center and the university, and foster inter-institutional collaboration.
Collectively Addressing Issues and Promoting Solutions
The AAHC executive leadership groups are taking on common issues and concerns by working together to combine their expertise and strengths. Meeting jointly, soliciting and responding to AAHC surveys, reaching out to their peers through AAHC queries, gathering at one-day workshops, and opening their doors to AAHC site visits, the ELGs are collaborating to assess and advance solutions to current and potential exigent issues:
HIPAA
The impact of the HIPAA Privacy Rule on research concerns members of multiple ELGs; the Workgroup on HIPAA was formed to include members from the Vice Presidents for Research, the Forum on Regulation, and the Legal Counsel groups to enhance in-depth research and strategy development on the Rule’s impact.
Fraud and Abuse
The Obama Administration is providing significant attention to programs designed to eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse. These programs impact the work conducted by academic health centers institution-wide and several ELGs will monitor and provide leadership on this cross-cutting topic.
Conflict of Interest
The AAHC, in close collaboration with the Forum on Regulation, Vice Presidents for Research, and Legal Counsel, promotes conflict of interest policies and procedures that foster objectivity in research, patient care, and education while also allowing for positive industry-academe relations. The AAHC submitted comments on the Department of Health and Human Services’ proposed rule on Objectivity in Research, strongly advocating for a framework that meets these goals.
Global Initiatives
To better address key challenges in administering and managing global initiatives, SAFO, the Vice Presidents for Research, and the Legal Counsel groups have raised pressing international issues at recent meetings, including a joint one-day meeting.