89 percent of respondents to a recent survey (Academic Health Centers and Community Health Centers: The Landscape of Current Partnerships) by the Association of Academic Health Centers reported that the academic health centerution had an established partnerhsip with one or more community health centers. These partnerships range from providing primary and preventive care to managing centers, training students, and conducting research. More than 60 percent of the partnerships are with federally qualified health centers (FQHCs). The FQHC label is part of a designation category designed by the Health Resources and Services Administration and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services indicating that the facility serves a medically underserved or health profession shortage area.
In this era of health reform, such partnerships are vital not only to expand access to care but also to address the nation’s health workforce needs. Because community health centers provide care to more than 20 million people, of which a vast majority live in poverty, it is important to ensure that the policies and practices associated with the establishment, operations, and collaborations of the community health center not only facilitiate effective care but also promote innovation in care delivery.
The academic health center-community health center partnership is one that should be encouraged but improvement in federal policy is also needed so that the partnerships can adapt to changing needs. Policymakers will need to examine regulatory, financing, management, and governance barriers that may be preventing collaborative models of care to flourish.
