Pending Wayne State University approval, the WSU School of Medicine, Wayne State University Physician Group and Detroit Medical Center have reached a tentative agreement to extend critical contracts for one year.

The agreement, reached last week, is the culmination of several months of negotiations to renew contracts related to reimbursement for physician-educator services for the WSU-DMC graduate medical education program; direct patient-care activity; medical administration and professional services for DMC clinical programs. Current contracts are scheduled to expire on March 31.

"Today I am pleased to report positive progress in renewal of our longstanding relationship with the Detroit Medical Center," Dean John Crissman wrote in a memo to School of Medicine faculty last week. "Although our original goal was a three-year contract renewal, our tentative one-year extension comes with a pivotal opportunity to create a true partnership between our institutions."

As part of the agreement, the school and UPG have agreed to enter into a strategic planning process with the DMC facilitated by a nationally respected consulting firm. The process will define the institutions' partnership as well as the next set of three-year agreements and financial arrangements.