Access to Care

The Rural Medical Education Program at IU School of Medicine—Terre Haute integrates basic and clinical sciences with a focus on rural medicine. This unique focus for the MD program promotes an appreciation, understanding and respect for the rural practitioner and the rural patient and equips medical students with skills and experiences unique to rural medicine. The program prepares physicians who are both well-prepared for medical practice in a rural setting.

The Urban Medicine Program at IU School of Medicine—Northwest-Gary is designed to prepare medical students to address the unique health care challenges that urban communities face. Factors such as poverty, unequal access to health care, lack of education, stigma and systemic racism are underlying factors of health inequities. The program focuses on health disparities, community engagement and developing cultural competence. It integrates our traditional medical curriculum with additional training in urban health issues, emphasizing public health, advocacy, health policy and social determinants of health. 

The Department of Family Medicine offers residency training throughout the state. Graduate medical education programs in family medicine are available in Lafayette and Jasper in an effort to provide more primary care physicians around the state.

Through the Southwest Internal Medicine Residency program and the Internal Medicine Residency at IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital in Muncie, the IU School of Medicine is training physicians in crucial primary care roles across the state.

The lack of psychiatrists is a significant barrier for Indiana residents who need quality mental and behavioral treatment. The Department of Psychiatry offers residency training in Merrillville and Vincennes to help increase access to psychiatric care across the state.

The IU School of Medicine’s Bowen Center provides reliable and timely data on Indiana’s health workforce in order to support data-driven policy development and to inform decisions at both the state and local levels. The center collaborates with governmental organizations, health professional training programs, provider organizations and non-profit agencies at local, state and national levels to evaluate the implementation, effectiveness and impact of their programs on health care access and delivery.

Research shows that early diagnosis and intervention can significantly improve the quality of life of children with autism. Despite that, the average age of diagnosis for children in Indiana is over 5 years old—well above the Healthy People 2020 goal of 36 months old. The Neurodevelopmental Behavioral System of Care, established and led by the Department of Pediatrics at Indiana University School of Medicine facilitates family-centered care to prevent delays and disorganization in receipt of appropriate services. By enhancing awareness and acceptance statewide of the need for screening, diagnosis and early intervention, the program is reducing the age of diagnosis for children with autism and aims to reach all Indiana children with developmental screening through early evaluation hubs located in communities throughout the state.

The Indiana Area Health Education Centers (AHEC) Network enhances access to quality health care, primary and preventive care, by improving the supply and distribution of health care professionals through community/academic educational partnerships. The Indiana AHEC Network office is located within the Department of Family Medicine at Indiana University School of Medicine. Comprised of eight regional centers, this network serves the needs of Indiana communities by providing pipeline programming, clinical rotations in rural and underserved areas, and continuing education opportunities to practicing health professionals.

IU School of Medicine offers Student Outreach Clinics in Indianapolis, South Bend and Terre Haute as part of the medical service learning program. Each clinic is designed to improve health care in under-served communities.

The Department of Psychiatry initiated a program known as the CHOICE Program which places IU School of Medicine faculty members in large, busy, primary care practices. This is a form of “integrated-collaborative care” that greatly expands mental health providers’ ability to reach patients with mental health needs. Approximately 70 percent of patients with mental health needs are seen in primary care practices rather than in psychiatry/psychology practices. The school is planning for an expansion of this program.