In January 2013, the Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation hosted a groundbreaking conference in Atlanta, Ga., to discuss how best to “connect great learning and great practice.” National leaders in health professions education and health care delivery examined how educational reform might occur in step with the rapidly transforming health care delivery system. This link between education and practice is what the national center calls the Nexus.

The foundation released the conference recommendations today. Like the concept of the Nexus, the recommendations are rooted in a commitment to the Triple Aim: improving the experience of care, improving the health of populations, and reducing per capita costs of health care.

The participants developed five recommendations for achieving an effective linkage between education and practice:

1. Engage patients, families, and communities in the design, implementation, improvement, and evaluation of efforts to link interprofessional education and collaborative practice.
2. Accelerate the design, implementation, and evaluation of innovative models linking interprofessional education and collaborative practice.
3. Reform the education and life-long career development of health professionals to incorporate interprofessional learning and team-based care.
4. Revise professional regulatory standards and practices to permit and promote innovation in interprofessional education and collaborative practice.
5. Realign existing resources to establish and sustain the linkage between interprofessional education and collaborative practice.

The full report, available on the Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation website, describes concrete steps necessary to achieve each recommendation. The report also acknowledges the enormous cultural change that must occur to bring the Nexus to life and, ultimately, create a high-functioning health care system “with empowered patients and engaged teams of practitioners and learners.”

I want to thank the Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation for spearheading this report. These recommendations underscore the urgency of our work in the national center and reinforce the potential impact of the Nexus on achieving the Triple Aim. Our work is reaching a critical point, and leaders in education and health care alike recognize the growing evidence that we must transform now, and we must transform together. This is an exciting time, indeed. I encourage you to read the full report, and I look forward to continuing this important conversation as you share your thoughts here.