Academic health centers are generally considered to provide an elevated level of health care, academic rigor, and a strong platform for research. But can the inclusion of academic health centers into chiropractic education and clinical services stimulate a profitable and scholarly model for chiropractors?

What is an Academic Health Center?

An academic health center (AHC) is an institution that is composed of three components: a college that trains doctors; active research in clinic science, bench science, or both; and an organization that delivers physician-level health care.   These components may be arranged in a variety of ways. Subsequently it is rare to see two academic health centers that use the same model.

The union of education, clinical services, and research pays many dividends.  Burgeoning clinicians learn to practice in a clinic that has a culture of science, research, scholarly reflection, and an ample supply of patients.  The more esteemed the center’s reputation, the greater the attraction for patients, students and faculty.  The icons in medicine: Mayo Clinic, Stanford, and Johns Hopkins all are academic medical centers.  They continue to attract patients, students and staff from around the world.

Faculty Practice

One successful component of an AHC is the clinical involvement of college faculty in treating patients within the health center.   This model allows for financial incentives for the faculty, while subsidizing their pay.  These faculty clinicians supervise student clinicians providing care within the center.  This system of clinical practice has the opportunity to attract the best and the brightest clinicians to our colleges.  In fact, a successful AHC will create more job opportunities for clinicians than the typical chiropractic college clinic model.

Academic Hospital Rotations

Not all academic health centers own or even affiliate with hospitals.  If, however, hospital rotations are desired, there are several ways that AHCs can implement hospital rotations.  Some medical schools partner with privately or government owned hospitals.  Specifically the VA system of hospitals has strong relationships with medical schools and academic medical centers.  Creating relationships with local hospitals, VA and military facilities would provide student and residents with a broader scope of knowledge, clinical experience, and an integrated view of healthcare.   Medicare provides an extra $6 billion of our tax money per year to teaching hospitals.  Is it unreasonable to seek some of this highly subsidized education for chiropractic students and residents?

Academic health centers may also affiliate with private clinics that attain to the high standard dictated by the AHC.   In the Washington D.C. area private practitioners who provide preceptorships for Johns Hopkins or Georgetown University medical students are not bashful about letting their patients know about their affiliation with these prestigious institutions.  In fact, being an adjunct faculty for a prestigious medical school may be desirable in promoting a practice.   In like manner, chiropractors associated with esteemed chiropractic institutions would benefit from the affiliation. 

The Quadruple Win

Successful organizations strive for win-win relationships.  A chiropractic AHC has the opportunity to create triple or even quadruple-win relationships.  The chiropractic college wins because of increased clinical revenues and by attracting the best clinical faculty.  The chiropractic faculty wins because of increased pay incentives.  The students win by no longer having to worry about clinical requirements (patient numbers take care of themselves).  Finally, the patient wins because of higher quality focused care.  AHCs are ideal settings for clinical research and many medical AHCs are receiving substantial funding through research grants.     

Chiropractic colleges and the profession as a whole would benefit from exchanging the current model of student clinics for the professional model of an AHC.  When even one chiropractic college attains iconic stasis, we all gain.