Several years ago, I wrote that the Department was likely to encounter its greatest challenges in the coming 5-10 years. I think that has proven to be true, but new opportunities have arisen that we simply couldn't have anticipated and which point to a very optimistic future.
The economic environment for clinical activities continues to be challenging, emphasizing short term interventions over long term public health approaches. The burden of the care of the indigent continues to fall disproportionately on academic medical centers. Our ability to pay for medical education and our research activities from our clinical revenue has decreased; all academic health centers feel these pressures. Our way forward will be a closer alignment with Clarian Health Partners and expansion of clinical activities in central Indiana. This will emphasize joint planning and increased clinical efficiency, increased access to primary and specialty career, and continued commitment to our partners at Wishard and the Veteran’s Affairs Medical Center.
The School has enjoyed a major success in securing a Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute (CTSI) award from the NIH to promote clinical research, the training of the next generation of researchers, and to increasingly deliver on our promise of using the State as our laboratory for the improvement of healthcare. The Department has major leadership roles in nearly every part of the CTSI. The Department and has just enjoyed a record-breaking year of research funding, breaking $100,000,000 in total research dollars awarded. Growth in funding support occurred in every Division. Notably, the IU-Kenya program weathered the post-election violence, maintaining the delivery of care to displaced patients and increasing our research activities on the ground. New programs are being developed to improve primary care and the care of women and children.
Our residency program has achieved national recognition through its selection as a site for the Educational Innovations Project, one of 21 sites in the country. Our project emphasizes leadership training of the residents, innovations in patient safety, and a new approach to meeting patient care quality targets in the outpatient continuity clinics. This would not have been possible without the support, in particular, of Wishard Hospital and the Regenstrief Institute.
Our Department remains a leader in many areas of clinical care, medical education, and research. This has resulted from the passion and hard work of our faculty and trainees, the superb leadership of the division chiefs and vice-chairs, and the remarkable generosity of our many friends in the community. If you would like to learn more about our work and goals, please contact me or our Development officers, Liz Elkas or Kathryn Red.
David W. Crabb, M.D.
Chairman, IU Department of Medicine
