President and Chancellor Renu Khator said UH plans to conduct a study into what it will take to bring a medical school to campus in her Fall Address on Wednesday.
“It’s something that, if you look at the demand for health care — particularly in Texas — we’re facing a huge shortfall,” said Earl Smith, the university’s chief health officer. “There hasn’t been a study out yet that doesn’t recognize we have a shortage in family practice doctors.”
The school wants to consolidate programs such as social work, psychology, and optometry into UH Health.
“In the coming years, we intend to implement the recommendations of the Health Workgroup, including a primary care clinic, expansion of pharmacy, doctor of nursing, doctor of physical therapy, a Ph.D. in Health Sciences, and down the road, a primary care, community-based medical school,” Khator said.
“The recommendation of the Health Workgroup is to not duplicate anything currently available in Houston, but to build upon it and focus entirely on community-based research and training.”
The University hopes to open the medical school by 2020.
