Generalist Physician Initiative

The UMass Generalist Physician Initiative is a primary care medical education project featuring a unique collaboration between all three major healthcare institutions in Worcester -- UMass Medical School, Memorial Health Care, and The Fallon Healthcare System. The project's overall goal is to increase the number of generalist physicians -- defined as general internists, general pediatricians and family physicians -- in practice.

The UMass GPI was selected by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundationto participate in its sweeping national effort to increase the supply of generalist physicians. UMass Medical School was one of 14 institutions named to participate in the nationwide initiative.

The UMass GPI project includes participation by community health centers in urban and rural underserved communities (for example Family Health and Social Service Center, Tri-River Health Center, Great Brook Valley Health Center, Springfield Community Health Center, Fitchburg Family Practice); Berkshire Medical Center; and physicians in private office practice in Greater Worcester and beyond. Additional collaborations have been established with the following: UMMS Medicaid Access Project, and the Meyers Primary Care Institute, a Fallon-UMass collaboration to support and encourage initiatives in primary care service, research and education, with a particular focus on managed care.