Medical Education and Research Costs (MERC) Definitions

In this definitions list, any word in a definition that is italicized is a word that is separately defined.
  •  Accredited training - "Accredited training" means training provided by a program that is accredited through an organization recognized by the U. S. Department of Education or the Health Care Financing Administration as the official accrediting body for that program.  Source:  Minn. Stat. §62J.69, subd. 1(h) (1998).

  • Advance practice nurse - For purposes of the MERC Trust Fund, "advance practice nurse" refers to the following: clinical nurse specialists, certified registered nurse anesthetists, nurse practitioners, doctor of nursing practice, or certified nurse midwives.  Source:  Minn. Stat. §62J.69, subd. 1(a).  Starting with the 2004 MERC application, advanced practice nursing programs, in addition to meeting other eligibility criteria, must be sponsored by the University of Minnesota Academic Health Center, the Mayo Clinic, or an institution that a part of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities (MnSCU) system or a member of the Minnesota Private College Council.  Source:  Minn. Stat. §62J.69, subd. 3(b). 

  • Audited - "Audited" means that the financial information reported in the application (except for question 8 part d) is based on or derived from audited financial records. In the event of a MERC program audit, the program should be capable of reconciling reported financial data with audited financial records if requested by the Commissioner.

  • Average clinical training costs per trainee - "Average clinical training costs per trainee" is determined by dividing the total clinical training costs by the total number of trainees. MERC funding is distributed based on a uniform percentage of the average clinical training costs per trainee by provider type.

  • Clinical training - "Clinical training" means "accredited training for physicians (medical students and residents), doctor of pharmacy practitioners, doctors of chiropractic, dentists, advanced practice nurses (clinical nurse specialist, certified registered nurse anesthetists, nurse practitioners, and certified nurse midwives), and physician assistants that is funded in part by patient care revenues and that occurs in either an inpatient or ambulatory patient care training site." Source:  Minn. Stat. §62J.69, subd. 1(b).

  • Clinical training costs - "Clinical training costs" means the patient-care component of health professions education, including clinical rotations and clerkships for medical, dental, advanced practice nursing, physician assistant and doctor of pharmacy students, and residency training for graduates of these programs. Costs associated with training that occurs in a classroom, laboratory or other non-patient care setting should not be considered clinical training costs.

  • Dental resident - "dental resident" is a dentist participating in an accredited post doctoral dental training program.

  • Eligible FTEs - "Eligible FTEs" means the full time equivalent for eligible trainees at each training site.

  • Eligible trainee - A trainee must meet the following criteria in order to meet the definition of "eligible trainee":
    1. The trainee's sponsoring institution, teaching program and site of training must be located in Minnesota.
    2. The training must occur in an accredited program.
    3. The trainee must be one of the following: medical student or medical resident; dental student or dental resident; advanced practice nursing student (clinical nurse specialist, certified registered nurse anesthetist, nurse practitioner, doctor of nursing practice, or certified nurse midwife); doctor of chiropractic student; doctor of pharmacy student or resident, physician assistant student.
    4. The training must be clinical in nature and must occur in either an inpatient or ambulatory setting where the training is funded, in part, by patient care revenue and the clinic/hospital maintains currently active medical assistance enrollment status and a National Provider Identification (NPI) number.
    5. Trainees in a nursing facility are not eligible.
     
  • FTE - "FTE" means full time equivalent.

  • Health care research - means approved clinical, outcomes, and health services investigations that are funded by patient out-of-pocket expenses or a third party payer.  Source:  Minn. Stat. §62J.69, subd. 1(e).

  • Medical education - "medical education" means "the accredited clinical training of physicians (medical students and residents), doctor of pharmacy practitioners, doctors of chiropractic, dentists, advanced practice nurses (clinical nurse specialists, certified registered nurse anesthetists, nurse practitioners, doctor of nursing practice, and certified nurse midwives), and physician assistants." Source:  Minn. Stat. §62J.69, subd. 1(a).
  • Medical resident - "medical resident" means an individual at any level of training in an ACGME-accredited medical education program.

  • Program - "an eligible teaching 'program' is one that is accredited, enrolls trainees, and is responsible for the trainee's overall education. The education may occur at one or more different sites." Source: MERC Study Recommendations and Progress Report to the Legislature December 1996, 14.

  • Provider type - "Provider type" refers to the specific providers that are eligible for the MERC Fund under the definition of medical education in the MERC statute: physicians (medical students and residents), doctor of pharmacy practitioners, chiropractors, dentists, advanced practice nurses, and physician assistants. Source: Minn. Stat. §62J.69 subd. 1(a).

  • Reporting period - The "reporting period" for program costs for the 2010 MERC application is the 2008 audited fiscal year.

  • Sponsoring institution - means a hospital, school or consortium located in Minnesota that sponsors and maintains primary organizational and financial responsibility for an accredited medical education program in Minnesota and which is accountable to the accrediting body.  Source: Minn. Stat. §62J.69 subd. 1(i).

  • Teaching institution - "Teaching institution" means "any hospital, medical center, clinic, or other organization that currently sponsors or conducts accredited medical education programs or clinical research in Minnesota." Source:  Minn. Stat. §62J.69 subd. 1(g).

  • Trainee - "Trainee" means any student "involved in an accredited clinical training program for medical education."  Source: Minn. Stat. §62J.69 subd. 1(c).

  • Training Site - means the facility at a given practice address where clinical training occurred. Individual preceptors or departments within a facility should not be listed as the training site.  The facility where clinical training occurred should be listed as the "training site" even if the preceptors that provided the training has moved to another facility.  Training sites must be located in Minnesota and have a currently active medical assistance enrollment status and a National Provider Identification (NPI) number where training occurs in either an inpatient or ambulatory patient care setting and where training is funded, in part, by patient care revenues. Nursing facilities are not eligible.

Updated Tuesday, 16-Nov-2010 12:25:26 CST