Is there such a thing as “disruptive medical education”? Can traditional medical education be infused with technology, techniques and individualized learning such that it creates the next generation of enlightened and empowered physicians? I think so. Years ago, when I was enrolling in medical school at Case Western Reserve University, I felt like I was a part of just that…exciting, cutting edge education which was “disrupting” the traditional training by allowing students to start interacting with patients immediately. So I was intrigued when I read about a new program starting at Brown University’s Alpert Medical School in 2015. This program focuses on combining 
population health management and primary care to create physicians who are focused on the principles of the Triple Aim: improved outcomes, better quality healthcare delivery, and decreased cost of care. But will it work?
As everyone knows, the cost of healthcare is astronomical. Federal mandates and regulations abound. To survive in this landscape, physicians need to understand these increasing pressures and begin to embrace the tools which will allow them to provide improved outcomes, better quality of care and do it with less cost. It seems to me that educating our next generation physicians and arming them with these tools to succeed only makes sense. Social media, mobile health, telehealth, population wellness, and more are all here to stay. Patient engagement in healthcare is rapidly evolving and will be an integral part of any health system of the future. Medical education needs to change and not stagnate.
So my answer is this: I am hopeful that we choose the right path and decide to disrupt medical education. I encourage all of the cutting edge, forward thinking, connected educators to lead the charge, just like those at Brown are currently doing. Just like Case Western Reserve University’s Medical School did several decades ago. Do you think it will happen?
