Harvard Medical School Center for Primary Care to partner with The Ivey Academy to deliver a primary care practice management program

LONDON - (September 18, 2018) – Primary care physicians and others on the front-lines of primary care practice are excellent at what they do. But the challenges are ever evolving. Meeting 21st century societal needs and patient expectations will require bold vision and first-rate execution. Managing change, bending the cost curve, and caring for an aging population are among the many pressing demands on practices and systems that call for radically new approaches to teamwork, culture, funding, and use of information technology. At the same time, important hallmarks of primary care such as the continuous and trusted relationships with patients and comprehensiveness of care must not be sacrificed. 

In collaboration with the Harvard Medical School Center for Primary Care and the Ivey International Centre for Health Innovation, The Ivey Academy will offer an opportunity for primary care physicians to join in discussions with leaders from around the world who are meeting primary care challenges with innovative responses. Participants will also share their own experiences and work on concrete ideas for transforming their own practices. The program is designed help to create relationships with others on the same journey; after the program ends, a valuable network for sharing experience and learnings will remain. 

The program, Charting the Future of Primary Care: Leadership, Teams, and Culture, is based on a similar, successful model currently delivered in the United States. This unique executive education program will use Ivey and Harvard-style cases and case discussions to examine exemplary practices around the world, including Canada. Participants will learn directly from the faculty who designed the cases and conducted the research, and also from primary care providers profiled in the cases. 

“We are excited about the response to-date in the primary care community about the partnership between Ivey and Harvard Medical School. We think our combined experience in this space will lead to an unparalleled professional development opportunity for doctors,” said Mark Healy, Executive Director, The Ivey Academy. 

“Many health care professionals are not trained in business or leadership. We’re highlighting innovative leadership models from across the globe so that primary care teams can effectively lead improvement initiatives and manage their practice in an ever-changing environment,” added Erin E. Sullivan, Ph.D., Research and Curriculum Director at the Harvard Medical School Center for Primary Care. 

“While the program is grounded in the Canadian health care system, it seamlessly integrates global best practices. New Canadian case content written specifically for the program will be used in concert with established case learnings from Harvard. Leveraging the experience of Harvard with the management expertise of both the Ivey International Centre for Health Innovation and the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry at Western University, we believe this is an exceptional opportunity for those on the front-line of primary care to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of their practices,” added Dave Barrett, Executive Director, Ivey International Centre for Health Innovation. 

London, Ontario-based family practice physician Dr. Catherine (Cathy) Faulds is currently an advisor to the program, and a member of the program faculty. 

“I am excited to see this type of program offered for the first time in Canada. It is highly relevant for family physicians who provide leadership at their practice level and/or within the healthcare system. I look forward to Ivey and Harvard using their educational expertise to help us build a strong primary care foundation in Canada,” said Faulds. 

The program is delivered in part due to a significant investment from sponsoring partner MD Financial Management. “The leadership capabilities of Canadian physicians are crucial to their ability to care for patients, support Canada’s healthy population, and make a meaningful impact in their communities,” said Brian Peters, President and CEO of MD Financial Management. 

“With increased innovation and healthcare disruption, it is imperative that we continue to cultivate physicians’ leadership expertise. We thank Ivey Academy and Harvard Medical School Centre for Primary Care for providing this opportunity to Canadian physicians,” added Peters. 

The first offering of this two-day program is scheduled for April 11 – 12, 2019 in London, Ontario at the Ivey Spencer Leadership Centre.

For more information: 

Mark Healy, Executive Director
The Ivey Academy
416-797-9666

Rob Austin, Faculty Director
The Ivey Academy
raustin@ivey.ca

Caroline Barnaby, Manager of Marketing and Communications
Harvard Medical School Center for Primary Care
Caroline_Barnaby@hms.harvard.edu
617-432-3453

Cathy Faulds, MD CCFP FCFP CAC (PC)
Family Physician Focus practice in Palliative Care
Adjunct Professor Department of Family Medicine
Western University
cfaulds@llfho.com

About Harvard Medical School Center for Primary Care
The Harvard Medical School Center for Primary Care (https://primarycare.hms.harvard.edu/) supports a future health system built upon a strong foundation of primary care. This future demands not just excellent clinicians, but innovation, vision, and leadership from all members of the primary care team. The Center’s mission is to transform primary care with work in four key areas: improving primary care education, transforming primary care systems, developing original research, and fostering entrepreneurship. By creating new approaches to care, identifying high-performing primary care teams and training health care leaders, the Center will discover new opportunities for delivering outstanding primary care. 

About MD Financial Management Inc.
With close to 50 years of physician-focused experience, MD has one main goal: to help Canada’s physicians achieve financial well-being.

MD has more than $49 billion in assets under administration and is dedicated to serving Canada’s physicians and their families. MD provides financial products and services, the MD Family of Funds and investment counselling services through the MD Group of Companies. For a detailed list of these companies, visit md.ca.

Media Contact:
Katie O’Dell
Manager, External Communications
katie.odell@cma.ca
647 472-5857

About the Ivey International Centre for Health Innovation
Based in the Ivey Business School, the Centre acts as a catalyst for health system transformation, and strives to be a global leader in the research, education, and knowledge translation and dissemination of value-based health management and innovation. 

About The Ivey Academy at Ivey Business School
The Ivey Academy at Ivey Business School is the home for executive Learning and Development (L&D) in Canada. It is Canada’s only full-service L&D house, blending Financial Times top-ranked university-based executive education with talent assessment, instructional design and strategy, and behaviour change sustainment. 

Rooted in Ivey Business School’s real-world leadership approach, The Ivey Academy is a place where professionals come to get better, to break old habits and establish new ones, to practice, to change, to obtain coaching and support, and to join a powerful peer network. Follow The Ivey Academy on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.