James E. Zini, DO, AOA Past President, proposed a national osteopathic education center and OPTI clearinghouse in 2001. Both projects are currently under development within the AOA's Department of Education (DOE). The major goal of the clearinghouse would be to disseminate information about the AOA's educational structure and processes to members of the osteopathic medical profession and the public.
To facilitate the AOA accreditation and approval processes, the proposed clearinghouse would provide resources to the osteopathic medical profession and the DOE by developing and implementing resources to ensure that OPTIs' data needs are met and enhanced. These new resources would include a national database, Internet resources for public and private (OPTIs only) use, and staffing levels sufficient to fulfill the administrative needs of the OPTIs. The clearinghouse will also conduct continuous needs-assessment analysis for data collection, as the DOE and their related councils, committees, and bureaus use these materials.
Additionally, the proposed clearinghouse is charged with providing OPTIs with appropriate information for their use in determining the effectiveness of the OPTI system as an OGME mechanism that is intended to enhance and increase the quality of osteopathic postdoctoral training. This information may include completion rates, certification board pass rates, and the length of program approvals.
Utilizing statistical design tools and methods, the clearinghouse will further be able to study, analyze, and maintain information, making formal recommendations on how educational issues affect workforce trends, OPTI development, trends in internship and residency training, certification, the effects of continuing medical education requirements on AOA membership, and the effects of hospital closures on the osteopathic medical profession.
It is also hoped that the OPTI clearinghouse will serve as an electronic resource for OPTIs to share best practices, ideas, faculty development programs, and general information benefiting osteopathic postdoctoral training.