Aligning practice redesign and interprofessional education to advance triple aim outcomes

Achieving the goals of health care reform – described by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement as the ‘‘Triple Aim’’ – will place new demands on the health care workforce. Interprofessional team-based care, quality and process improvement, and population health management are not skills that have been emphasized in traditional health professions education and training. Preparing health professionals to meet these demands will require significant changes in education and training – changes that can only occur if educational institutions align with practices, health systems and the communities they serve. Together they must define the knowledge and skills required for better care, added value, and improved health outcomes, and together they must align and integrate health professions education with the reformation and redesign of health systems that are currently underway. This commentary describes a case example of what such change could look like, reviews current opportunities and challenges to progress, and offers a review of current initiatives and opportunities to move forward toward an optimal alignment of practice and education that will improve population health, reduce costs, and improve the quality of care.