Connecting education to exceptional patient care.

About the Alliance of Independent Academic Medical Centers

WHO WE ARE

The Alliance of Independent Academic Medical Centers (AIAMC) is a national organization of approximately 90 independent teaching hospitals committed to delivering exceptional patient care through education and innovation. We create and implement real-world, sustainable solutions that equip our members to thrive in the ever-changing regulatory and accreditation environment.

The AIAMC has an almost 30-year track record of leveraging graduate medical education (GME) as a strategic asset to achieve better outcomes. Member institutions are represented by accomplished, forward-thinking individuals, including leaders in national accrediting organizations and other influential industry roles.

WHAT MAKES AIAMC DIFFERENT?

The AIAMC is the only national membership organization addressing the unique needs of independent academic medical centers.

Our results-driven approach supports its members in developing processes and applying methodologies that produce tangible, positive outcomes within their organizations and communities.

Our work demonstrates how graduate medical education can be a key strategic asset in attaining continuous improvement in patient care and better outcomes in real-world care environments. That is because we view medical education through the lens of clinical/healthcare delivery, not just research or theory.

The AIAMC is recognized as an organization that fosters innovative and sustainable achievements.

The AIAMC offers the size and strength to provide outstanding resources and attract renowned experts at educational events. Yet, it is small enough to foster true networking – in person and beyond.

The AIAMC creates opportunities for colleagues from member institutions to connect, collaborate, learn from, and support each other in meaningful ways.

The AIAMC is a community of prestigious teaching institutions with high national rankings and represented by accomplished individuals who hold national leadership positions.

WHAT WE DO

The AIAMC advances the development and application of innovative educational solutions to drive better clinical outcomes. Through networking, sharing of information, roadmaps, research and best practices, the Alliance equips members to find and implement effective solutions to their care quality and patient safety challenges. These endeavors include participating in AIAMC National Initiatives , achieving compliance with policies and regulatory imperatives, and realizing GME-supported operational improvements.

HOW WE DO IT

We provide this value to our members, their institutions and their communities by:

  • Placing patient care at the forefront of all endeavors, underpinned by medical education and research
  • Promoting leadership and creating a congenial networking forum for our members
  • Encouraging collaboration and joint responsibility among members to develop benchmarking data and best practices
  • Facilitating member research on population‐based patient outcomes
  • Envisioning medical education and research of the future and preparing members for optimum performance
  • Increasing representation of independent academic medical centers at a national level
  • Partnering with key national organizations

WHY OUR WORK MATTERS

Independent teaching hospitals contend with unique issues compared to university-based institutions, such as meeting ACGME requirements; finding and maintaining funding; aligning graduate medical education with institutional priorities; implementing essential clinical, operational and regulatory initiatives; and recruiting and retaining good faculty. They must do all of this while translating graduate medical education into clinical practices that incorporate continuous quality improvement and optimize patient care.

These challenges make it essential to have a ready community of like-minded peers with whom to share ideas and experiences. That is why our members consider networking the greatest benefit of belonging to the AIAMC. Its size and welcoming community make it easy for members to meet, confer, collaborate and forge relationships they can tap throughout the year. They have a place to turn for guidance and the right tools to tackle their real-world issues without reinventing the wheel or getting set back by challenges others have surmounted. The beneficiaries? Patients, residents, the member institutions and the communities they serve.

WHAT INDUSTRY RECOGNITION SAYS ABOUT OUR AIAMC COMMUNITY

Our members share a commitment to innovation and excellence - and it shows! AIAMC member institutions have received national recognition for their work. 2016-2017 accomplishments include:

  • Nearly 50% of AIAMC member institutions were recognized nationally as high-performing organizations with spots on Healthgrades Excellence Awards list of Distinguished Hospitals, Top 100 Hospitals or Top 50 Hospitals.
  • 34% of our member institutions received the Distinguished Hospital Award for Clinical Excellence by Healthgrades, ranking them among the nation’s top five percent of hospitals delivering comprehensive and consistent “high-quality outcomes” across at least 21 of 32 common procedures and conditions.
  • Analyzing data from nearly 5,000 centers across multiple clinical specialties, procedures and conditions, U.S. News & World Report Best Hospitals Rankings reported:
    • 86% of Alliance member institutions were ranked as “High Performing” hospitals in one or more specialties.
    • 29% of our members were ranked Best Hospital Nationally in 83 specialties for outstanding performance.
    • 62% of member institutions were ranked Best Hospital Regionally in one or more specialties.
  • 24% of our members received a Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade of “A” from the Leapfrog Group – an acknowledgment of their overall high performance in keeping patients safe from preventable harm and medical errors.
  • Almost 22% of Alliance member institutions qualified and were ranked among the 100 Top Hospitals by Watson Health (formerly Truven Health Analytics) when measured against key performance criteria.

In addition to the healthcare industry recognition our member institutions have received, they are also represented by accomplished individuals who hold national leadership positions, including: current appointments on the boards and key committees of the AAMC, ABMS, ACGME, AHA, AMA and NRMP. Additionally, AIAMC members are represented on the ACGME’s Institutional Review Committee (IRC) as well as seven Residency Review Committees (RRCs).