Academic health systems have tremendous potential to leverage the convergence of training, research and care delivery to have the greatest impact in improving health. In order to realise that potential, significant systematic changes and innovation will be required with key partnerships developed between traditional academic structures and clinical delivery systems to leverage faculty skills and resources.

Examples of these partnerships being actively explored at Duke University include MEDx, a collaborative initiative between medicine and engineering; Duke Institute for Health Innovations, a funding opportunity for faculty focused on innovations in health care delivery; Forge, a health data science initiative convening data scientists with clinical investigators to develop health care solutions; Learning Health Units, a convergence of Clinical Service Units, Clinical Research Units, and Data Science Units to establish a continuous, embedded research infrastructure and a Department of Population Health Science; a basic science department comprised of faculty members from a variety of disciplines who share an interest in answering complex questions about the drivers of health in populations.

Each of these examples engage trainees and faculty, have discrete and measurable impact around care delivery, particularly in the local environment and reflect the unique opportunities of academic health systems.