The University of Pittburgh’s Health Policy Institute and its primary clinical partner, UPMC, have created the Center for Interprofessional Practice and Education (CIPE) to foster the development of innovative new models of team-based, collaborative care education and practice. The new Center will be directed by Susan M. Meyer, PhD, associate dean for education and professor, PittPharmacy, and Ben Reynolds, PA-C, director of the Office of Advanced Practice Providers at UPMC. CIPE will conduct research that evaluates the cost, quality, and patient outcomes of new interprofessional care models. Findings from these studies will inform the curricula and training of Pitt’s six Schools of the Health Sciences to ensure graduates are prepared for collaborative practice.
Pitt has been a leader in interprofessional practice since 2007, when the Pitt Working Group on Interprofessional Education, chaired by Dr. Meyer, was established to promote the advancement of interprofessional education. Since then, the Pitt/UPMC partnership has been designated a Nexus Innovation Incubator site within the National Center for Interprofessional Practice and Education, developed and implemented a Josiah Macy, Jr. Foundation-funded classroom and clinical program focused on interprofessional modeling and caring for elderly, and hosted All Together Better Health VII, the largest global conference on interprofessional practice and education. CIPE is housed within the Pitt Health Policy Institute, which has been committed to producing evidence-based policy research and programming for government, business, and the foundation community since 1988.
