Leadership and globalization: research in health management education.

The impact of globalization on graduate health care management education is evident, yet challenging to quantify. The Commission on Healthcare Management Education (CAHME) recently authorized two research studies to gather specific information and answer important questions about accredited graduate programs in the USA and Canada. Two surveys provided the most comprehensive data impacting international health management education efforts by 70 programs. An inventory was made of 22 countries; information was compiled on 21 accrediting or quality improvement organizations. Observations on leadership and the demand for qualified health care professionals is discussed in terms of accreditation, certification, competency models, outcome assessment, improving quality, and the impact of globalization on higher education.

A conceptual model for transformational clinical leadership within primary care group practice.

The patient-centered medical home provides an operational framework for implementing the Institute of Medicine's 6 quality aims within primary care. Successful implementation of the patient-centered medical home necessitates transformation at the group practice level. This article describes a conceptual model for transformational clinical leadership, based on the paradigm of the care pilot and the tools and training for effective implementation of this role within primary care group practice. In addition, we propose an innovative academically based system to train and support the care pilot and practice transformation in primary care and rural practice settings.

Reinventing CME: the role of the care pilot in the medical group practice.

This article recommends that the content of traditional continuing medical education be changed significantly to include the concepts and skills necessary to enable practice teams to feedback information into the practice, which would result in the creation of a learning organization with the ability to plan for and anticipate future activities. The primary role in this new organization would be called a care pilot who would have as a primary responsibility, the successful navigation and improvement of the 6 aims as spelled out in the Institute of Medicine report Crossing the Quality Chasm.

An analysis of the impact of the David A. Winston Health Policy Fellowship.

The objective of the David A. Winston Health Policy Fellowship is to attract and to encourage promising individuals to become successful participants in the health policy process, particularly at the interface of the public and private sectors. From 1987, when the Fellowship was established, through 2004-2005, there have been nineteen Fellows and approximately 65 additional finalists. All but one Fellow hold an MHA or equivalent degree and several hold additional advanced degrees. In comparison to the Fellows, fewer finalists hold additional advanced degrees. The Winston Fellowship Board initiated this study to identify the impact of the Fellowship on the careers of the recipients and, if possible, to track the careers of the finalists to determine the extent to which they have been active in the policy process. The findings are based on a high response rate from former Fellows and a small sample of finalists. Compared to the finalists, the Fellows have been more involved in the policy process and first post-Fellowship employment of Fellows has trended towards Congress in recent years. Fellows noted strengths and weaknesses of the program and made suggestions for improvement. There was agreement among the Fellows that the Fellowship program did influence career direction and content, but it was not possible to draw clear inferences of cause and effect.

The pharmacy leadership competency gap: diagnosis and prescription.

The purpose of this paper is to inform the health administration community and its educators about the importance of pharmacy leadership, the competencies associated with the role, and a suggested path to achieve a greater number of pharmacy leaders. The role of the pharmacy leader is often unrecognized or undervalued, yet it has significant implications for many facets of the healthcare delivery organization, including the cost of care, patient safety and quality, the influence and potential involvement of the pharmacist in the hospital or health system. Hospitals and health systems should recognize the power of an effective pharmacy leader, and strive to fill those positions. Unfortunately, should care leaders demand high performing pharmacy leaders, they will find that such individuals are in short supply, and will become more rare with time because of an aging pharmacy workforce. The health administration education community must respond to the demand by marrying pharmacy management education with the Master's in Health Administration degree (MHA). This article proposes the creation of a PharmD/MHA dual degree program, giving clinically trained pharmacists the skills they need to be effective managers and leaders in hospitals and health systems.