The National Center works with 47 sites on 58 projects to implement interprofessional education and collaborative practice (IPECP) across the nation. The National Center team is committed to supporting affiliated projects to collect the data, information, and evidence needed to support interprofessional practice and education (IPE). To do so, National Center research and data collection are peer-reviewed and published to support Nexus Innovation Network to hold conversations in their own settings.   

Recently published in Academic Medicine, “Reflections from the Intersection of Health Professions Education & Clinical Practice: The State of the Science of Interprofessional Education & Collaborative Practice”, reflects on the current state of the field of IPE by answering three questions:

• As a field of study, where is IPECP?

• As a research enterprise, what are the current analytical gaps?

• Scientifically, what needs to be done going forward?

The article identifies analytical gaps of IPE, including big picture outcomes, mixed results on the effectiveness of care teams, and the potential need for additional IPECP competencies.

The authors outline the work of the National Center to fill these analytical gaps by way of strategic actions organized around three domains. An argument is made for the importance of filling these gaps as generalizable findings are paramount if the effectiveness of IPE on CP and of CP on health outcomes is ever to be ascertained.

Accompanying this article is an editorial published in the Journal of Interprofessional Care, “Measuring the Impact of Interprofessional Education on Collaborative Practice and Patient Outcomes.” Reflecting on the 2015 IOM report, the editorial describes the consensus committee that wrote the report as well as the committee’s charge to establish effective methods of measuring the impact of IPE on care delivery and patient outcomes. The editorial comments on key findings of the report, including the need for improved study design to link IPE to patient, population and system outcomes.

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