Intended to provide insightful and useful commentary for academic health center thought leaders, Nota Bene offers perspectives on the threats and opportunities faced by academic health centers in a strategically challenging environment to help academic health center leaders and their institutions move forward to respond to the realities of 21st century medicine.
CURATING MEDICAL AND SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE IN THE INFORMATION AGE: A ROLE FOR ACADEMIC HEALTH CENTERS?
In this information age of increasing amount and availability of “knowledge” for public use, it is vital that this information be processed and evaluated so that individuals, be they professionals or lay persons, make informed decisions. As honest and trusted resources for the information they collect and the knowledge they generate, academic health centers should shoulder the critical responsibility and play a proactive role as the curators of medical and scientific information.
The Role of the Physician in 21st Century Healthcare
For thousands of years, the practice of medicine
has followed the long-standing traditions typical
of a profession. A physician possessed a unique
body of knowledge and skills and put them to
use in the care of patients. As such, the doctor-patient
interaction was paramount and served as
the foundation of a personal, caring relationship
that has stood the test of time. But the forces
that are changing 21st century medicine are on
track to disrupt millennia of tradition.
Medicine and Machines: The Coming Transformation of Healthcare
In an environment of accelerating returns, these are striking examples of the transformative power that results from the ongoing convergence of these and other technologic advances.
Eight Strategies for Effective Partnerships in Healthcare
The fundamental collaborative challenge in healthcare partnerships centers on mission alignment. It is entirely reasonable (and expected) that different organizations will have different priorities and strategic visions. A common—and major—mistake is the assumption by one or more partners that they will be able to drive their missions across the partnership with the same focus and prioritization they had before the partnership was formed.