National Center
for Integrative
Primary Healthcare

Focusing on Interprofessional Education, Collaborative Practice and Evaluation

January, 2015 | Volume 1

Welcome to NCIPH

The Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine (AzCIM) and the Academic Consortium for Integrative Medicine & Health (The Consortium) in cooperation with the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA)¹ created the National Center for Integrative Primary Healthcare (NCIPH).

The purpose of the NCIPH is to advance the incorporation of competency- and evidence- based integrative health (IH) curricula and best practices into primary care education and practice. The most important gap filled by this 3-year project will be the development of a set of competencies and educational materials relevant to and appropriate for use across the entire interprofessional spectrum of primary care practitioners.

NCIPH GOALS

1. Establish a national interprofessional leadership team (InPLT).

2. Develop core IH competencies for interprofessional primary care teams.

3. Develop a 20-40 hour interprofessional IH online curriculum for primary care
educational programs – Foundations in Integrative Health.

4. Create an accessible and interactive online infrastructure that will house:

• IH curricula

• Best IH practices for primary healthcare professions

• Links to partner organizations and IH resources for healthcare professionals

• Patient portal

5. Develop patient education IH material and facilitate access to IH practitioners.

NCIPH Activities and Opportunities to Participate

COMPETENCY DEVELOPMENT

The InPLT has developed a set of 9 meta-competencies to guide curriculum development. Using the meta-competencies as a guide, InPLT representatives will develop specific competencies relevant to their discipline.

We would appreciate your feedback on our meta-competencies and profession-specific competencies. Please email us at info@nciph.org if you are interested in reviewing the competencies.

NCIPH COMPETENCIES FOR PRIMARY CARE PRACTICE

Practice patient-centered and relationship-based care.
Obtain an integrative health history which includes mind-body-spirit, nutrition, and the use of conventional, complementary and integrative therapies.
Collaborate with individuals and families to develop a personalized plan of care to promote health and well-being which incorporates integrative approaches including lifestyle counseling and the use of mind-body strategies.
Demonstrate skills in understanding and utilizing the evidence as it pertains specifically to integrative healthcare.
Demonstrate basic knowledge on the major health professions conventional, complementary and integrative.
Facilitate behavior change in individuals, families and communities.
Work effectively as a member of an interprofessional team.
Practice self-care.
Demonstrate skills to incorporate integrative healthcare into community settings and into the healthcare system at large.

NEEDS ASSESSMENT

A needs assessment survey was developed to assist in identifying curriculum priorities and content areas common across primary care and other healthcare professions on which to base the Foundations in Integrative Health course.
The needs assessment will be distributed to educational program directors in primary care residencies, nursing, pharmacy, public health, behavioral health and physician assistant education programs, and licensed CAM schools.
If you would like to complete the survey for your educational program or forward to another interested educational program click here or email us at info@nciph.org for more information.

SUMMIT

The InPLT will meet in Tucson on February 23rd to finalize the competencies and start the curriculum development process.

CURRICULUM

A 20-40 hour interprofessional IH online curriculum, Foundations in Integrative Health, for primary care educational programs based on the competencies will be developed following the Summit. The curriculum content will also address gaps in IH knowledge and skills.
The course will be available online free of charge to primary care education programs during the grant period. There will be a built in evaluation of knowledge and competencies in IH and interprofessional collaboration.
Are you interested in becoming a pilot site to test and evaluate the curriculum? Please email us at info@nciph.org .

DISSEMINATION/RESOURCES

Email us at info@nciph.org if you’d like to become a NCIPH dissemination or resource partner.

NCIPH Organizational Chart

(Click the image to download larger pdf version)

Timeline (Year 1)

Develop Competencies – September, 2014 – February, 2015
Administer needs assessment – December – February, 2015
Web site development starts January, 2015
Disseminate competencies for feedback/review – January-February, 2015
Summit – 2/23/15
Foundations in Integrative Health Course development – starts March, 2015
Recruit pilot sites to test FIH course – March – August, 2015

Meet the InPLT

The interprofessional leadership team (InPLT) is a national committee comprised of representatives from primary care and other health professions. The role of the InPLT is to develop interprofessional IH competencies and curricula for primary care, provide technical assistance and serve as the linkages to national and regional partner organizations.

Chair: Ben Kligler, MD, MPH
Vice Chair, Mount Sinai Beth Israel Department of Integrative Medicine

Principal Investigator: Patricia Lebensohn, MD
Professor of Family and Community Medicine, Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine, University of Arizona

Project Director: Audrey Brooks, PhD
Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine, University of Arizona

The Consortium: Maryanna Klatt, PhD, RYT
Associate Professor, Department of Family Medicine, The Ohio State University College of Medicine

Preventive Medicine: Eden Wells, MD, MPH, FACPM
Clinical Associate Professor, Epidemiology, Director, Preventive Medicine Residency, University of Michigan School of Public Health

Family Medicine: Victoria Maizes, MD
Executive Director, Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine, Professor of Clinical Medicine, Family Medicine and Public Health, University of Arizona

Internal Medicine: Ana Marie Lopez, MD, MPH, FACP
Professor of Medicine and Pathology, Medical Director, Arizona Telemedicine Program, University of Arizona Cancer Center

Pediatrics: Hilary McClafferty, MD
Director, Pediatric Integrative Medicine in Residency, Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine, University of Arizona

Nursing: Mary Jo Kreitzer, PhD, RN, FAAN
Director, Center for Spirituality & Healing, Professor, School of Nursing, University of Minnesota

Nursing: Mary S. Koithan, PhD, RN, CNS-BC, FAAN
Associate Dean for Professional and Community Engagement, Associate Professor, University of Arizona College of Nursing

Pharmacy: Jeannie K Lee, PharmD, BCPS, CGP
Department of Pharmacy Practice & Science, University of Arizona College of Pharmacy

Public Health: Doug Taren, PhD
Associate Dean of Academic Affairs, Professor of Public Health, Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, University of Arizona

Behavioral Health: Robert Rhode, PhD
Adjunct lecturer in Department of Psychiatry, Arizona Health Sciences Center, University of Arizona

Academic Consortium for Complementary & Alternative Health Care (ACCAHC): Elizabeth Goldblatt, PhD, MPA/HA
ACCAHC Chair, American College of Traditional Chinese Medicine (ACTCM) & Doctor of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (DAOM) Academic Council and Faculty

HRSA Project Officer: Irene Sandvold, DrPH, FACNM, FAAN
Medical Training and Geriatrics Branch, Division of Medicine and Dentistry, Bureau of Health Workforce, Health Resources and Services Administration, Department of Health and Human Services

Contact us

Principal Investigator: Patricia Lebensohn, MD: plebenso@email.arizona.edu

Chair, InPLT: Ben Kligler, MD, MPH: bkligler@chpnet.org

Project Director: Audrey Brooks, PhD: brooksaj@email.arizona.edu

NCIPH general information: info@nciph.org

¹ “This project is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under grant number UE1HP27710, National Coordinating Center for Integrative Medicine, $1,699,998. This information or content and conclusions are those of the author and should not be construed as the official position or policy of, nor should any endorsements be inferred by HRSA, HHS or the U.S. Government.”