The Role of Medical Education in Reducing Health Care Disparities: The First Ten Years of the UCLA/Drew Medical Education Program

BACKGROUND The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)/Charles R. Drew University Medical Education Program was developed to train physicians for practice in underserved areas. The UCLA/Drew Medical Education Program students receive basic science instruction at UCLA and complete their required clinical rotations in South Los Angeles, an impoverished urban community. We have previously shown that, in comparison to their UCLA counterparts, students in the Drew program had greater odds of maintaining their commitment to medically disadvantaged populations over the course of medical education. OBJECTIVE To examine the independent association of graduation from the UCLA/Drew program with subsequent choice of physician practice location. We hypothesized that participation in the UCLA/Drew program predicts future practice in medically disadvantaged areas, controlling for student demographics such as race/ethnicity and gender, indicators of socioeconomic status, and specialty choice. DESIGN Retrospective cohort study. PARTICIPANTS Graduates (1,071) of the UCLA School of Medicine and the UCLA/Drew Medical Education Program from 1985–1995, practicing in California in 2003 based on the address listed in the American Medical Association (AMA) Physician Masterfile. MEASUREMENTS Physician address was geocoded to a California Medical Service Study Area (MSSA). A medically disadvantaged community was defined as meeting any one of the following criteria: (a) federally designated HPSA or MUA; (b) rural area; (c) high minority area; or (d) high poverty area. RESULTS Fifty-three percent of UCLA/Drew graduates are located in medically disadvantaged areas, in contrast to 26.1% of UCLA graduates. In multivariate analyses, underrepresented minority race/ethnicity (OR: 1.57; 95% CI: 1.10–2.25) and participation in the Drew program (OR: 2.47; 95% CI: 1.59–3.83) were independent predictors of future practice in disadvantaged areas. CONCLUSIONS Physicians who graduated from the UCLA/Drew Medical Education Program have higher odds of practicing in underserved areas than those who completed the traditional UCLA curriculum, even after controlling for other factors such as race/ethnicity. The association between participation in the UCLA/Drew Medical Education Program and physician practice location suggests that medical education programs may reinforce student goals to practice in disadvantaged communities.     

Innovative Health Care Disparities Curriculum for Incoming Medical Students

Purpose  1) To pilot a health disparities curriculum for incoming first year medical students and evaluate changes in knowledge. 2) To help students become aware of personal biases regarding racial and ethnic minorities. 3) To inspire students to commit to serving indigent populations. Methods  First year students participated in a 5-day elective course held before orientation week. The course used the curricular goals that had been developed by the Society of General Internal Medicine Health Disparities Task Force. Thirty-two faculty members from multiple institutions and different disciplinary backgrounds taught the course. Teaching modalities included didactic lectures, small group discussions, off-site expeditions to local free clinics, community hospitals and clinics, and student-led poster session workshops. The course was evaluated by pre-post surveys. Results  Sixty-four students (60% of matriculating class) participated. Survey response rates were 97–100%. Students’ factual knowledge (76 to 89%, p < .0009) about health disparities and abilities to address disparities issues improved after the course. This curriculum received the highest rating of any course at the medical school (overall mean 4.9, 1 = poor, 5 = excellent). Conclusions  This innovative course provided students an opportunity for learning and exploration of a comprehensive curriculum on health disparities at a critical formative time.     

Funding of Graduate Medical Education in a Market-Based Healthcare System

The graduate medical education (GME) process in the United States is considered the most respected model for high-quality education of graduate physicians in the world. With substantial funding through government and private insurers and through structured educational accreditation standards, the American Board of Medical Specialists–certified physicians are recognized for their expertise in delivering high-quality medical care. However, under fiscal constraints and changing social expectations, questions are continually posed about the process of funding and whether the “physician outcomes” are sufficient to continue with the investment. This article reviews the history of postgraduate physician education, the multiple funding pathways, disruptions to a placid educational system and changing social expectations. The ultimate issues involve the core goals of GME and how much GME should shoulder responsibility for changing the healthcare system.     

Remote patient monitoring sustains reductions of hemoglobin A1c in underserved patients to 12 months

AimsWe sought to determine whether underserved patients enrolled in a statewide remote patient monitoring (RPM) program for diabetes achieve sustained improvements in hemoglobin A_1c at 6 and 12 months and whether those improvements are affected by demographic and clinical variables.MethodsDemographic and clinical variables were obtained at baseline, 6 months and 12 months. Baseline HbA1c values were compared with those obtained at 6 and 12 months via paired t-tests. A multivariable regression model was developed to identify patient-level variables associated with HbA_1c change at 12 months.ResultsHbA_1c values were obtained for 302 participants at 6 months and 125 participants at 12 months. Compared to baseline, HbA_1c values were 1.8% (19 mmol/mol) lower at 6 months (p < 0.01) and 1.3% (14 mmol/mol) lower at 12 months (p < 0.01). Reductions at 12 months were consistent across clinical settings. A regression model for change in HbA_1c showed no statistically significant difference for patient age, sex, race, household income, insurance, or clinic type.ConclusionsPatients enrolled in RPM had improved diabetes control at 6 and 12 months. Neither clinic type nor sociodemographic variables significantly altered the likelihood that patients would benefit from this type of technology. These results suggest the promise of RPM for delivering care to underserved populations.     

A Deficiency of Nutrition Education and Practice in Cardiology

Background

Nutrition is one of the foundations of cardiovascular guidelines for risk reduction and treatment. However, little is known about whether cardiologists, cardiology fellows-in-training, and cardiovascular team members have the nutrition education and knowledge necessary to implement these guidelines. The aim of this study was to describe the educational experiences, attitudes, and practices relating to nutrition among cardiovascular professionals.

Health Disparities and Vitamin D

Research over the last two to three decades has slowly demonstrated that Vitamin D, a long neglected and unappreciated hormone, is of profound importance to human health and survival. Vitamin D begins its synthesis in human skin with ultraviolet B radiation (UVB) from the sun. Melanin is a potent UVB blocker, protecting the skin from the high intensity sunlight found on the tropical savannah into which humans evolved, but not impairing the skin’s ability to synthesize generous quantities of vitamin D there. Adaptation to environmental availability of UVB radiation from the sun appears to explain the variation in skin melanin content in indigenous human populations around the world. Evidence shows populations in the United States have mean vitamin D levels that are associated with the relative amount of melanin in the skin in those populations, and that humans with insufficient levels of vitamin D suffer disproportionately from the diseases associated with health disparities. The differences in incidence and severity of cardiovascular diseases, the most common cancers, diabetes, tuberculosis, conditions associated with infant mortality, and total mortality in populations associated with health disparities in the United States are explored in this chapter. Indeed, the magnitude of the disparity in diseases associated with “health disparities,” related to the effect of vitamin D on those diseases, is such that eliminating the differences in vitamin D levels between the populations would appear to virtually eliminate the health disparities between them.     

Leveraging Computerized Sign-Out to Increase Error Reporting and Addressing Patient Safety in Graduate Medical Education

SUMMARY Setting Electronic reporting systems are important components of the patient-safety movement but have been problematic particularly in capturing information from physicians. Objective In an attempt to increase error reporting in our community hospital residency program, we devised a convenient safety log integrated into the computerized resident-patient sign-out. Measurements and Main Results Safety-log events are discussed in weekly safety reports with emphasis on developing a safety culture and preventing further events. We report our experience implementing the safety log. The program quadrupled our contribution to the hospital quality assurance system and has led to significant system innovations. Challenges have included sharing information and improving accountability without humiliating participants or alienating co-workers, as well as sustaining the project over time. Conclusion Residents are uniquely placed to provide insight into hospital systems. An error-reporting system based in a resident sign-out can leverage this role into an important tool for safety education and care improvement.     

Medical Student-Run Health Clinics: Important Contributors to Patient Care and Medical Education

Background Despite the popularity of medical student-run health clinics among U.S. medical schools, there is no information about how many clinics exist, how many students volunteer there, or how many patients they see and what services they offer. Objective We describe, for the first time, the prevalence and operation of medical student-run health clinics nationwide. Design and participants A web-based survey was sent to all 124 Association of American Medical Colleges allopathic schools in the 50 states. Results Ninety-four schools responded (76%); 49 schools had at least 1 student-run clinic (52%). Fifty-nine student-run clinics provided detailed data on their operation. The average clinic had 16 student volunteers a week, and most incorporated preclinical students (56/59, 93%). Nationally, clinics reported more than 36,000 annual patient–physician visits, in addition to more nonvisit encounters. Patients were predominantly minority: 31% Hispanic; 31% Black/African American; 25% White; 11% Asian; and 3% Native American or other. Most student-run health clinics had resources both to treat acute illness and also to manage chronic conditions. Clinics were most often funded by private grants (42/59, 71%); among 27 clinics disclosing finances, a median annual operating budget of $12,000 was reported. Conclusions Medical student-run health clinics offer myriad services to disadvantaged patients and are also a notable phenomenon in medical education. Wider considerations of community health and medical education should not neglect the local role of a student-run health clinic.     

Politics and Graduate Medical Education in Internal Medicine: A Dynamic Landscape

The promotion of change and growth within medical education is oftentimes the result of a complex mix of societal, cultural and economic forces. Graduate medical education in internal medicine is not immune to these forces. Several entities and organizations can be identified as having a major influence on internal medicine training and graduate medical education as a whole. We have reviewed how this is effectively accomplished through these entities and organizations. The result is a constantly changing and dynamic landscape for internal medicine training.