Supplement for Academic Units for Primary Care Training and Enhancement

We seek to establish within the Center for Primary Care Innovation at Northwestern University, an academic unit to conduct system level research that will advance primary care-related training and lead to a health care workforce that is better equipped to address the social determinants of health and disease. The Unit will conduct new research in this area and work to spread best approaches (developed either internally or externally) using several dissemination techniques and establishing a community of practice with other institutions and training programs. The Unit will have the following three over-arching goals: 1) To study and disseminate undergraduate medical school curricula and programs that best develop student competency in addressing the social determinants of health, delivering chronic disease care, improving population health, and promoting healthcare equity. 2) Study and disseminate residency/post-graduate educational models that best prepare physicians and other clinicians preparing for primary care practice to address the primary care needs of diverse populations, address the social determinants of health and understand system approaches to delivering high quality, equitable care delivery. 3) Design, evaluate and disseminate training approaches that use electronic health record data and advanced quality measurement to train medical students and residents to assess their own quality of care, analyze disparities of care within the populations they serve, and teach the skills necessary to improve the quality of care and reduce disparities.