Contract for educational services between a college of pharmacy and private hospitals

Abstract

A fee-per-student reimbursement system for clinical clerkships that evolved between a college of pharmacy and a private community hospital is described. The faculty member is a hospital employee with the college compensating the hospital on a per-student basis for the provision of clerkship instruction. Both the hospital and the college were concerned about the allocation of costs, responsibility for the supervision of the program and personnel, and finding a way to accommodate their different goals and objectives. The hospital provides (1) the necessary clinical training facilities and resources for the clerkship program, (2) 60 hr/yr of drug-therapy lectures, and (3) 40 hr/yr of release time to attend faculty and department meetings at the college. The hospital employs the clinical pharmacist to provide clinical services to its family medicine center and the clerkship program. A written contract specifies the responsibilities of both parties, and an addendum is negotiated annually to state the actual fees, number of students per year, and number of hours spent in lectures and committee participation at the college. The contractual relationship has been extended successfully to four other sites. The college and the hospital have found this reimbursement approach to be flexible, effective in promoting organizational communication, and mutually beneficial in allowing both organizations to achieve their goals.