Academic medical centers should institute innovative changes in order to remain competitive and face growing challenges, according to a Council Perspective from ACC’s Academic Cardiology Council published March 6 in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. These challenges include a decline in government funding for research and education, shifting payment models and increasing competition amongst academic institutions.

The Council puts forth a series of changes that will “facilitate establishing the academic medical system of the future,” an enterprise that would embody academic mission, clinical value, and organization and alignment.

The proposed changes are the result of a symposium at ACC’s 64th Annual Scientific Session (ACC.15) entitled, “The Academic Medical Center of the Future,” organized by the Council. Overall, the Council proposes that academic medical centers evolve into academic medical systems by partnering with other institutions and physicians in order to adapt to the shifts in health care toward ambulatory care, fee-for-value and population health management.

Specifically, the recommendations include realigning financial incentives across academic medical centers to allow for growth and efficiency; adapting research and education to changing societal goals for health care; training faculty in leadership development; and finding innovative sources of funding. The Council also notes that collaboration with medical societies is important in achieving these changes.

According to the authors, “organizations such as the ACC, in collaboration with others, should play a major role in driving academic funding through government advocacy, and development of alternative funding pipelines and tools to help academic organizations to succeed.” 

Keywords: Academic Medical Centers, Academies and Institutes, Ambulatory Care, Faculty, Government, Leadership, Motivation, Research, Societies, Medical

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