The analysis of costs of National Institutes of Health (NIH) bio-medical research demonstrates that the increased expenditures for research project grants are due to such factors as real growth in the program, artifacts of the calculation method, and the extent to which project periods of awards have lengthened. (Author/DB)

The article analyzes three challenges confronting academic medical centers in the areas of education, patient care, and research. Encouraged are: (1) an expanded role by medical centers in training primary care physicians; (2) modification of physician reimbursement policies; and (3) resolution of conflicts of interest for biomedical scientists in…

An analysis of the state of medical informatics, the application of computer and information technology to biomedicine, looks at trends and concerns, including integration of traditionally distinct enterprises (clinical information systems, financial information, scholarly support activities, infrastructures); informatics career choice and…

This discussion of traditional academic medicine's resistance to changes in practice, technology, and finances looks at three current problems in medical education and two in biomedical research. Solutions are proposed, based on redefinition of the relationship between universities and medical schools and expansion of the conventional narrow focus…

Two conference presentations are summarized: (1) the Human Genome Project and other genetic discoveries and technologies, that offer improvements in diagnosis, disease prevention, and treatment, and that change the relationship between the academic medical center (AMC) and the pharmaceutical industry; and (2) new emphases on health-care outcomes…

Three principal aspects of capital needs in biomedical research are discussed: the significant and growing need for capital; sources; and the role of federal policy. Important assumptions, questions, and possible future trends are discussed. Consolidated thinking and effort are encouraged. (MSE)

Discussion of academic medical centers (AMCs) looks at: change due to heavy federal funding in recent decades; adverse consequences, including deemphasis on education in favor of research and clinical service delivery, and discrepancies between AMC internal and external labor markets; and challenges to medical education in research, education, and…