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America’s educational leaders have grown accustomed to supplementing classrooms with technological modules, interactive platforms, and other remote learning activities. Online learning in higher education has also flourished with the evolution of the internet; however, when it comes to undergraduate and graduate medical education, students had not experienced remote learning until COVID-19.

On December 27, 2020, Congress passed the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (HR 133) which provides legislation that is pertinent to academic medicine. In Germane Solutions’ core commitment to our clients and healthcare community, we are pleased to provide our guidance and understanding into these provisions as they currently stand.

While certainly not beginning the discussion, nor finishing it, previously this year multiple leaders in the healthcare field addressed racial inequalities and inequities: equality being an equal distribution to all individuals, while equity is the distribution that best fits an individual’s needs (“Equity vs Equality''). These prominent figures include the President of the ACGME,...

Conflicts of Interests (COI) is a hotly debated issue within medical institutions, raising questions about how these issues could be addressed and policed. Even with this debate around COI, if one is identified within an institution, it could harshly affect their status, reputation, and responsibility. COI are secondary interests, such as financial gain, that are prioritized over primary interests...

Being a physician has always been a challenging profession, but the satisfaction and joy found in patient care interactions formerly balanced the challenges. In the last 20-years, however, something has changed. Physicians have seen increases in demands for their time, resources, and energy to an overwhelming degree. In addition to poorly designed daily work systems, the failure of EMRs to support...

What does your physician pipeline look like right now? Are you prepared for unforeseen circumstances with physician staffing, such as an unexpected early retirement? If you are struggling with physician sourcing and ensuring that your hospital or system has the appropriate staffing resources to support your community in years to come, you are not alone. Institutions across the country are struggling...

One of the most crucial factors within your organization to begin the consideration of starting new GME programs is overall support. When exploring GME, certain individuals become the GME champions to spearhead the GME initiative. One of the most important factors this GME champion analyzes is the interest and excitement of physicians and staff within a given hospital and associated clinics. Without...

As a non-teaching hospital planning for new Graduate Medical Education (GME) growth, it is paramount to check for past teaching activity when determining the feasibility of GME residency and fellowship programs. Any teaching activity that has gone without notice on the hospital’s Medicare Cost Reports (MCRs) could adversely impact the future reimbursement opportunities of the organization. For instance,...

You noticed turnover or gaps in physician availability within your system. You heard one or more physician group representatives were interested in starting a residency or fellowship program to help with talent recruitment and retention. You’re interested, but don't know where to start exploring the option. The Initial Feasibility Assessment (IFA) is a process in which Germane Solutions works with...

Let’s first take a look at the acronym GME, which stands for Graduate Medical Education. GME is responsible for the oversight of training for all Residencies and Fellowships. This is mandatory training for physicians looking to practice medicine independently in the United States. The Accreditation Council of Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) is responsible for setting guidelines for programs to follow...

This is an almost unbelievable statement from the AMA’s “The Complexities of Physician Supply and Demand: Projections From 2018 to 2033” report. The Physician shortage is growing at an alarming rate, so let’s dig into specific factors contributing to this problem.