The Interprofessional Care Access Network, or I-CAN, is a program within the OHSU Interprofessional Initiative and housed at the School of Nursing. The program spans academic departments and courses to bring together students performing existing community/clinic rotations as part of their curriculum. Students from the Schools of Nursing, Medicine, Dentistry, Public Health, and the College of Pharmacy form interprofessional teams to help individuals and families in underserved communities address barriers to health related to social determinants of health.

By participating in this program, students gain a deeper understanding of the social context of patients with complex health needs. I-CAN's primary purpose is to provide a model in which health professional students are in the community to address the complex health needs of vulnerable and disadvantaged individuals, families, and populations.

The I-CAN model

I-CAN is an innovative interprofessional education and collaborative practice  model that:

• Provides community-based, interprofessional care coordination to socially isolated and vulnerable populations.
• Demonstrates that providing patient-centered healthcare focused on social determinants of health (the conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work, and age) is more effective than only focusing on disease management.
• Models an interprofessional service-learning healthcare education system in a real-world context so future providers can better encourage and deliver collaborative healthcare.
• Addresses the Triple Aim goals of improving individual and population health while controlling costs.