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Informing the Future: Critical Issues in Health: Second Edition (2003)

Chapter: Health Care Delivery System and Performance Capabilities

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Suggested Citation:"Health Care Delivery System and Performance Capabilities." Institute of Medicine. 2003. Informing the Future: Critical Issues in Health: Second Edition. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10853.
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Suggested Citation:"Health Care Delivery System and Performance Capabilities." Institute of Medicine. 2003. Informing the Future: Critical Issues in Health: Second Edition. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10853.
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Suggested Citation:"Health Care Delivery System and Performance Capabilities." Institute of Medicine. 2003. Informing the Future: Critical Issues in Health: Second Edition. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10853.
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Suggested Citation:"Health Care Delivery System and Performance Capabilities." Institute of Medicine. 2003. Informing the Future: Critical Issues in Health: Second Edition. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10853.
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Suggested Citation:"Health Care Delivery System and Performance Capabilities." Institute of Medicine. 2003. Informing the Future: Critical Issues in Health: Second Edition. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10853.
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Suggested Citation:"Health Care Delivery System and Performance Capabilities." Institute of Medicine. 2003. Informing the Future: Critical Issues in Health: Second Edition. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10853.
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Suggested Citation:"Health Care Delivery System and Performance Capabilities." Institute of Medicine. 2003. Informing the Future: Critical Issues in Health: Second Edition. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10853.
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Suggested Citation:"Health Care Delivery System and Performance Capabilities." Institute of Medicine. 2003. Informing the Future: Critical Issues in Health: Second Edition. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10853.
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Suggested Citation:"Health Care Delivery System and Performance Capabilities." Institute of Medicine. 2003. Informing the Future: Critical Issues in Health: Second Edition. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10853.
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Suggested Citation:"Health Care Delivery System and Performance Capabilities." Institute of Medicine. 2003. Informing the Future: Critical Issues in Health: Second Edition. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10853.
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Suggested Citation:"Health Care Delivery System and Performance Capabilities." Institute of Medicine. 2003. Informing the Future: Critical Issues in Health: Second Edition. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10853.
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Suggested Citation:"Health Care Delivery System and Performance Capabilities." Institute of Medicine. 2003. Informing the Future: Critical Issues in Health: Second Edition. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10853.
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Suggested Citation:"Health Care Delivery System and Performance Capabilities." Institute of Medicine. 2003. Informing the Future: Critical Issues in Health: Second Edition. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10853.
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Suggested Citation:"Health Care Delivery System and Performance Capabilities." Institute of Medicine. 2003. Informing the Future: Critical Issues in Health: Second Edition. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10853.
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Suggested Citation:"Health Care Delivery System and Performance Capabilities." Institute of Medicine. 2003. Informing the Future: Critical Issues in Health: Second Edition. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10853.
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Suggested Citation:"Health Care Delivery System and Performance Capabilities." Institute of Medicine. 2003. Informing the Future: Critical Issues in Health: Second Edition. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10853.
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Suggested Citation:"Health Care Delivery System and Performance Capabilities." Institute of Medicine. 2003. Informing the Future: Critical Issues in Health: Second Edition. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10853.
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Suggested Citation:"Health Care Delivery System and Performance Capabilities." Institute of Medicine. 2003. Informing the Future: Critical Issues in Health: Second Edition. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10853.
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Suggested Citation:"Health Care Delivery System and Performance Capabilities." Institute of Medicine. 2003. Informing the Future: Critical Issues in Health: Second Edition. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10853.
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Suggested Citation:"Health Care Delivery System and Performance Capabilities." Institute of Medicine. 2003. Informing the Future: Critical Issues in Health: Second Edition. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10853.
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cE cA Quality poems a/e eve'~yw1?e'~e, affecting Nay patients. Between the health care we have and the care we cor'/cl have lies '?otj'~st a gap' b''t chasm.—Crossing the Q''ality Chasm: A New Health Systen?for the 21st cel?hiry, 2001 THE 2~.~Y ~~.~M Recent years leave brought to national attention a troubling fact: tire U.S. health care delivery system does not provide consistent, l~igh-quality meclical care to all peo- ple all of tire time. Crossing the Q~'ali~ Chasm: A ee.~e U.SO heallb (are delivery system doe`s n<~t New Health System for the 21st Century (2001~ calls provide ~~)n~i8~t' highs for a sweeping reclesig~ of tire entire delivery system. Modifying the current system Camelot do the job, because its inherently poor design sets up health care worI<ers to fail, regarcIless of low I~arcl tizzy try. Tire report presents a strategy acid actions plan for clevelopi~g a system that ensures tire delivery of care cleat is safe, effective, patient-ce~te~-ed, timely, effi- cient, and equitable over the next decade. It provides a set of ten general principles for improving how health professionals acid tidbit institutions care for patients. Among these r ules, care should be customized according to patient fleeces and values, decisions sI~ouict be made based on tire best ICY medical Care tO all ply ~LlII of -chat t~. Cal LU -

[~.~IP'S!rt~ 111~<' I~{,/~~!~. Cart IDA lS~St,~S IN ~<,4!7~ /tivingw~th / \ \ / Illness/ / \ \ Disability / \ Gettir~g Better \ Chronic / \ Acute Care Care / \ V A I \ Coping with ~ End of Life \ \ Palliative Ware \ Cross<utting Systems r Interventions \ / / Staying Healthy / / Preventive / / Car>/ The Committee's Initial Fran~ewo~-k for Determining Priority Areas. SOURCE: Priority Areas for National Attention: Transforming Health Care Quality, 2003, page 3. scientific evidence, patients should be kept safe from injury caused by the case system, anti cooperation among clinicians acid institutions should be macle a priority. Broader-basec! actions also are needed, Lucia as setting national priorities for improving care delivery, creating better Stools for disseminating and applying knowledge to practice, fostering tire use of information technology in clinical care, creating payment policies that encourage innovation and reward improvement in performance, and enhancing educational programs to stre~gtI~en tire health care woricforce. --an ~ r--o- As a crucial first step in malting tire health care system more respol~- sive to tire needs of patients ant! moire capable of delivering science-based care, tile Q''ality Chasm report recommends tire systematic identifications of priority areas for quality improvement. In response, tile Department of Health and Humans Services turned to tile Institute of Medicine for assis- tance. Prior Areas for National Attention: Transforming Health Care Quality (2003) identifies 20 focus areas covering tire entire spectrum of health care, front preventive ant! acute care thorough palliative care at the end of life. Takers togetl~e~; tire priority areas toucan all age groups, healths case set- tings, and care p~oviclers. Most of the areas focus Ott chronic conditions heart disease, cancel; stroke, cl~ronic obstructive puIn~onary disease, ant! diabetes, among others given treat Lucid conditions account for tire major- $2

fff`~4~1 C~-~- Drt~`S17~.~l AND in :,4~3,48~.\ ity of the nation's Stealth care burclen ant! resource use. Several of the areas, such as tire need for coordination among clinicians and institutions in patient caret cut across specific conditions and I~ealtl~ care settings. Collective actions in these priority areas could Whelp transformer tire entire heath care system. As steps are taken to improve care, it will be vital to measure their impact regularly, using stancIarclizeci methods treat permit comparisons. Over time, new priority areas may need to be identified, using the criteria anti selection process spelled out in tire report. The Quality Chasm report also stresses Bleat transforming tire health care delivery system will ~ equire transforming how pl~ysiciat~s, nurses, pl~arma- cists. and other health professionals are educated. Hedit/? professior?s Educations: A Bric/ge to Quaker (2003) provides a blueprint for cage. Educators should develop curricula ant! programs for undergraduate, graduate, Alice continuing education to erasure Cleat clinicians achieve profi- ciency in five core areas: providing patient-oriente~i care; working, in inter- disciplinary teams; practicing eviclence-based medicine; applying quality improvement approaches; and using information technologies. Organizations witty oversight responsibilities including accreclitatio~, licensure, and certification groups also should! adopt mechanisms to ensure that students Alice worl~ing professionals develop and ~nai'~tain pro- ficiency in blase areas. Among Oliver recomn~endations, tire report calls for changes to training programs, for research to improve educational practices and iclentify what clinicians si~ouIc! be taught to improve patient care, for public reporting relater] to health pi ofessio~s education to better Overlap of Gore £ompetencies for Health Professionals _~'Empl~y _, F ~Y;de 1~ r ~ <W ~ ~ = _ I ~ by, ~ :_ ~ Apply ~ ~ Utilize I nformatic. Relationship Among Core Co~npetencies for Health Professionals. SOURCE: I-1ealth Professions Education: A Bridge to Quality, 9003, page 46.

~f~4l~r(~ I-- 3' CKI11~AL i.~St 'ES bier BALM coo~cli~ate ant! integrate across their multiple roles, ant! for active leacle~- ship across clisciplines to improve health professions education. REr'(~G 'at bYS'.~M Given their lcey role in training stealth professionals, conducting ~esearcl~ treat advances health, and treating tire neediest of patients, aca- demic healths centers can leas] efforts to improve healths care. ACaC]el??iC Heat Centers: Leaching Change in the 21st Century (2003) offers a comprel~e~- sive plan for flow acaclemic stealth centers (AHCs) si~ouIc! reform their own operations, proposes public policy actions speeded to ensure that AHCs catty out reforms ant! describes flow AHCs can serve as ~nociels to guicle change for health care delivery, education, and research. Among priority needs, AHCs should take the lead in redesigning the content and methods of healths professions education (and Congress sI~ouIc! create a declicatect Academic -I cente's pals ~ ~ these d ~~e areas can be steadily t~- itt'red ai3d Ads tiff the cent(~10S must Step forward nice the r,0tit-~n Ad 'improved healthy. fund to support such innovation) and they sI~ouic! design and assess new organizational structures and team approaches for patient care (and government agencies organizations that pay for health care ant! founclations sl~ouIc! sup- port demonstration projects to evaluate these approaches). AHCs also should increase their emphasis on clinical stealth services and preven- tion reseal cl1 in of cler to answer questions about tire clinical electiveness and cost effectiveness of both current practices and emerging technologies ant! funnel s of heatth- r elated ~ esearch especially at the federal level should enhance ant! foster collaboration across departments professional schnooks ant! institutions. AHCs must set clear goals so tight progress in these diverse areas can be steadily ~nonitorecl, and leaders of tire centers must step fo'warcl to guide else nations towa'd improved health. In many fields conducting demonstration projects often proves of great benefit in determining tile best ways to r each desired goals. For this reason tire Department of Health ant! Human Services asker! the IOM to identify possible demonstration projects focused on improving health care that could be concluctect in tire near term ant! treat might yielc] models for broad reforms of tire overall clelivery system within a few years. Fostering Rapic! Acivances in Health Care: Leaming from System Demonstrations (2003) describes a carefully crafted set of projects that I~oic! promise of breaking new ground ant! potentially could improve stealth save dollars or both.

[~ ~~' C~ i~- Drtit~i S]rSILl\f AND pERF-~fANCE ~Al'ARILI'TIE-S TO projects fall into five basic categories: chronic care; primary care; tire information and communications technology infiastructure; state health insurance, and meclical liability. Taken together; the projects acIciress criti- cal elements of proposed strategies for systen~-wide I~ealtl~ care reforest. All or nearly all of tire projects will involve public and pri- vate partnerships amuck collaborative efforts, ant! witty tire exception of the u',insu'-ed demonstration, they are expecter! to r equire modest ceases in stealth care expenditures beyond initial upfront investment. As witty all de~nonstratio~s, these projects should be viewer! as experiments and should be carefully evaluated to deter- ~i'~e wl~etl~e~- acid to wheat extent they achieve intenclec! outcomes. Proposals for improving tl~e quality, safety, and effca- cy of tire healtl1 care system typically place considerable emphasis Ott cleveloping and implementing electronic I~ealtl~ record (EHR) systems. Although an increasing number of health care organizations already use such systems, most providers continue to write orders for serv- ices and maintain patient records on leaper, ant! most also practice without con~puter-assisted decisions supports, sot as prompts to check a diabetic patie~t's blooc! glucose or alerts that inclicate drug interactions. As part of a ~~atio~al effort to encourage tire acloptior, of computer-basec! heat records, the Department of Healths and Human Services asked the IOM for Whelp in establishing what characteristics EHR systems should possess to be most useful. Key Capabilities of a'~ Electronic Health Recorc! System (2003) iclen- tifies a set of ei51lt core functions bleat EHRs sixfold be capable of perform- ing-. Tire functions were selected off tire basis of their ability to improve patient safety, support effective care, assist ilk tire management of chronic diseases, acid improve efficiency. Tipsy all protect patient privacy and co'~- fidentiality, acid Riley comply witty established standarcIs for security, stor- age, and exchange of data. Having a common understanding about key functions will enable health care orga~izatio~s to more easily compare tile EHR systems treat are currently available, guide venclors in builcling new systems witty enhanced capabilities, Whelp accreditation organizations in certifying systems treat are ready for adoption, and may guicle tire federal govern net as it considers ways to stimulate care providers to invest in EHR. ~5

\Rj~; EVE Fr77 a 7~: [R/~f ~~ /\ ~~? ~ help in determining whether the nation is making progress in improving the deUve[y of heakl1 care, Congress has malldsted the Agency far Heakhcare Research and QuaUty to prepare an annual report on quah- ~ ~ends, with the first resort dated far 2003. The a~enCv asked tile 1O~ ~ . . ~ ~ . . . . ~ . , . , ~ . . to develop ~ ViSiOll of the design slid contents of this lCpOli. to Me Thong/ Geoff ~~ Quaky flora (2001) off ~ broad Framework far assessing quaff of health care describes specific examples of the types of pleasures that should be included and suggests how to obtain such data most efficiently; and provides advice on how to reach intended audiences with Ulis intimation. Although its primary audience is intended to be pol- i~ makers and 1leald1 care leaders at tile national and state levels, the report also should be Of interest to the public clinicians, researchers, pur- chasers of health care, and other individuals alla groups concerned with Avid Children with h~4hreatening conditions and their Memoirs too open d to receive competent, compassionate, and consistent health care that meets their physical, emotional, alla spiritual needs. Amen ~~'d~" fife: If~proy~'l~ ~~/f~f~e gild End- Boor CAfid~n Ovid Miff fee {2003) Flucent~1 Cord Membranes Con~enita1 (2~) Anomalies \ (1 Z~) ~ \ CompUcations of Pregnancy (2~) Short Gestation (8~) Heart Disease / (2~) Unintentional \ attunes ~ (22~) ~ 1 SITS (5~) Respirator Distress (2~) mu: Cancer (4~) Homicide and Suicide (8~) Other (33~) PercenLage of Ill ChUdhood Oeaths by Age Croup q999t SOURCE: Men Children O7e: /mprov7/l~ ~///af;ve and End- Care fair Ct;7dren and Weir Made, 2002, Rage 4 ,.,

ut-At74 ~ cow- Drtit~ir bars IT,\] ANo pr~ ogMANGE CAI3ASItI~S concluc:les that the nation must do more to cleliver effective ant! appropri- ate care ilk these tragic situations It provides a set of worIcing principles treat characterize I~igI~-quality palliative, encI-of-life, ant! bereavement care, and suggests a broacI-~'asec! strategy for making such care widely available. Incleeci, good care aIreacly is possible but current methods of organizing ant] fina~ci'~g complicate tile provision and coo~clination of services, ant! sometimes ever, requite families to choose between curative oil life-pro- longing care acid palliative services, particularly hospice care. Inadequate scientific knowledge also impedes efforts to deliver effective care and clesig~ supportive public policies, and tire ~ eport calls for expanded researcl~ to fill current data gaps. Expanded eclucational efforts are needed as well to provide all physicians, nurses, anti otIler I~ealtI1 professionals witty basic competence in palliative, end-of-life, and bereavement calve, and to provide specialists ant! others who routinely treat children with life- threatening conclitions with acIvanced competence in tidiest types of care. ASSESSING 60~T ~~-~ ] Pi TI1e government's six major health care programs serve some 100 million people (1irectly anti significantly influence flow tire private sector provides care to mil- lions more. In response to a request from Congress, tire IOM analyzer! flow well tI~ese programs: Medicare; MedicaicI; tire State CI1ilcIren's Health Insurance Program; the Veterans HeaitI~ A<iministl ation program; tire Department of Defense TRICARE programs; ant! the lndia~1 Healths Service program are tweeting their respon- sibility to improve the quality of tire calve they provicle. Leaders/~'p by Exan~p/e: Coordinating Government Roles i'' Improving Hea/t1~ Care Quality (2003) calls for stronger feci- : · . . . . . . eral actions and proposes a rigorous lmplenlentatloll strategy. specifically, Else government sI~ouicl take full advantage of its unique position as pUI- chaser, regulator, and provider of healths care, as well as its role as the lead- ing sponsor of research, to improve care Motif in its owls programs and in tire private sector: Among, recommended actions, public care providers should serve as laboratories for developing funcIamentally new delivery systems, regulatory processes should be used to establish clinical data reporting requirements, purchasing strategies should provide rewards to providers Silo achieve higher levels of quality, ant! applied I~ealth research programs sI,ould be expancled to accelerate clevelopment of Icnowledge ant! tools in support of quality enhancement.

I3y~,'y~r:~ '7~< Ft,'~7~ ~E CRI116~AL ~~S IN BEAT COW Tire gove~nment's main programs for providing casts befits Alice eligi- bility for medical benefits to people witty disabilities the Social Security Disability Insurance programed and the Supplemental Security Incense pro- gran~ leave experiences! unexpectecIly rapid growths cluring the past two decades. For guidance on managing these p~-o~,rams, tire Social Security Administration (SSA) turned to the Institute of Medicine. The Dynamics of Disability: Measuring and Monitoring Disability for Social Security Programs (2002) offers a comprehensive set of recomn~enclations. Since clisability is a cynic process treat can fluctuate in breadth amuck severity act oss tire life counsel the SSA should clevelop a monitoring systemic to continually gate information ill a variety of areas. This system would provicle the agency Title data needed to respond to a variety of policy and planning issues, such as cleanses in the size, distribution, and characteristics of the work- ing populations wilds disabilities; demographic trends, fluctuations ilk labor markets, and changes in economic conditions; needs of minority and spe- cial populations witty disabilities; and tire impacts of legislative, ~egulato- ry7 and judicial actions on disability programs. The SSA also desperately needs to develop a systematic lo~g-term research program to address growing demands on its disability programs and to provide tire basis foil improving l~ow it maces decisions about program eligibility. Strengti~eni~g research efforts, within the agency and thorough extran~ural programs, will require a major i'~fusio~ of new resources, in terns of both dollars and recruitment of qualified r esearcI~e~-s. 1 / Difference Discrimination: Biases, Stereotyping, \ and Uncertainty Clinical Appropriateness and Need Patient Preferences The Operation of Healthcare Systems and Legal and Regulatory Climate Disparity 1 Difierence, Disparities, and Discrimination: Populations with Equal Access to Health Cal-e. SOURCE: Unequal Treatment: Confronting Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health Care 2002, page 3 3

HE-AL71! ~ ilRE DELIVERY Sprig ITM AIVD Pair C,*~)AR~S COT DISPARITIE:S IN WRAITH chip It is well established that members of racial ant! ethnic minority go oups in tire Unitec! States experience a lower quality of I~ealtl~ services, inclucI- in', even routine meclical procedu~ es, titan clo Finite people. Unequal Treatment: Confronting Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health Care (2002) reviews tire extent of such disparities, explores factors treat cause totem, ant! suggests policies and practices to ensure treat all people receive the same level of care. Among its recommenciatio~s, efforts are needed to make health care providers, insurance companies, policy-makers, apace members of the public more aware of tI~ese disparities; to encourage heat care providers and health plaits to adopt evidence-basec! guiclelines for malting decisions about which procedures to orcler or pay for; to inte- ~g-rate cross-cultural education into tire training of all Stealth professionals; and to recruit and train more minority health professionals, In adttition, public education programs should be stepped up to ensure that minority patients know how to access care ant! participate in treatment decisions. Guiclance for increasing tire representation of racial and etI~nic n~i~or- ity groups in the health professions is offered in an earlier IOM report. The Right Twig to Do, The Smart Thing to Do: Enhancing Diversity in the Health Professions (2001) summarizes the proceedings of a major symposium organized its conjunction witty the American Associations of Medical Colleges and tire Association of Acaclemic Healths Centers. The report dis- cusses bar r iers to recruiting ant! traipsing, underrep~esented minority stu- clents anti proposes steps fot overcoming these obstacles. Efforts will be Hispanic 25% Asian/Pacif~c Islander 10% American lndTan 1% - - / \ Black \ 14% White 50% U.S. Population Aged 1 6~G4, Year 2050 (percentages). SOURCE: The Right Thing to Do, The Smart Thing to Do: Enhancing Diversity in Health Profession: Summary of the Symposium on Diversity in Health Professions in Honor of Herbert ~ Dickens, M.D., 2001, page 2.

-or ]~E I4~ CP]~(A] [~S Or ~HEAI7~ neeclec! at all stages of the academic pipeline, beginning with programs to help minority students perform better ill science Alice mathematics ill grade school and high school. Promising stuclents Insist be encouraged to pursue tidiest fielcIs during undergraduate acid professional training, ant! tI~ey'~ust be provided with a variety of tools and support to ensure their success. Eclucational institutions and health professional organizations can Whelp smooths the academic pathway, especially at the undergraduate level, by training career advise's in else pal ticular needs of minor ity stuclents acid by rewarclinb faculty for serving as stucle'~t mentors. Motif unclergracluate and professional scl~ools also face Able cl~alle~ge of developing ad~nissio~s poli- cies that address tire neec! for racial anct ethic diversity Simile keeping in nice r ecent shrifts ilk legislative anti judicial positions r egarcting affirmative actions. New strategies anc! mecI~a'~is~ns are neeclec! as well for overcoming tire financial constraints that too often have preventer! underrepresented minority stucle~ts from pursuing careers in tire health professions. HELPING TFiE UNINSt)~D Over else years, tire IOM leas issued numerous reports focused on else nation's approach to health insurance coverage. One problem Blat remains particularly challenging is the large number of people who clo not have Stealth insurance. In 2000, tire IOM establisI~ec' tire Committee on the Consequences of Uninsurance, witty support from tire Robert Woof! Johnson Foundation, to consicler what lack of coverage means not only for tire more titan 40 million people wire go without, but also for their families and communities, for health care organizations, acid for tire larger society The commitree's Clark is to criticaliv review and synthesize the extensive but diffuse policy and clinical reseal literature and to communicate its findings and recommel1datiolls to policy-lllakers and tI1e general public. ~ — Cry J TI1e committee has issued five of its six scI1eduled reports, eacI1 rigorously examining different aspects of the problem. TI1e breadth and analytic deptI1 of tI1ese reports has helped to expand policy discussions beyond a moral imperative for insurance coverage. Key find- iligS from tire reports include flee following: ~ Coverage Matters: l'~sura`~ce and Health Care (2001) concludes treat many more people are regularly or periodically wninsurecl than widely believed. An estimated one out of seven people goes without coverage for

BALM (,\~E ~~Y 51~M i\~Vl) pERI<~E :,`~['ARILfrHE~.\ a year or snore at some point in life, and many more go without coverage for shorter periods, sometimes on a r ecurring basis. More titan 80 percent of tire uninsured live in families in whicI~ at least one person works, and roughly 80 percent of tire uninsured are U.S. citizens. More titan tire state of tire economy, the rising cost of health care services and insurance pre- miun~s, combined with a I~ocigepodge of government policies, unclermilles the affordability of health insurance. · Care Without Cvveroge: Too Little, Too Late (2002J finals that won Ici~g- age aclults who are uninsured tend to be sicker and clie earlier titan insured adults. Tire uninsured are significantly less lithely to receive needed health care, i~cluciing preventative services and care for chronic conditions. Tire health benefits of insurance are strongest widen coverage is continuous rattler than sporadic, and broad-based strategies to foste'- coverage across the entire uninsured population are more likely to improve health out- co~nes than are "rescue" programs aimec! primarily at people Gino already are seriously ill. · HenitI~ Insu/ once Is a Family Matter (2002) concludes that families with- out health insurance risk not only tI~eir health . . An est~t~£! t~ out t~{ but also their economic v~ab~ty. Incleeci, the physical, emotional, and financial well-being of all members of a family may be adversely affect- ed if any November lacks coverage. In families Seven pe(~plle goes will COVC(~C [of ~ year OF more at some point in ~tife~e ~ ~ ~ ~ — ~ A 18 ~ ~ where someone is uninsured, both parents and children are less likely to get timely Seattle set vices. Uninsurec! child en r eceive fewer services, including important preventative services (such as routine checkups) that can leave beneficial long-teTtT~ effects. Most uninsured families clo not leave sufficient funcIs to purchase health insurance independently, as the cost of premiums is too l~igl~. · A Sharerl Destiny: Community Effects of Insurance (2003) describes spillover effects that go far beyond any given uninsured pea son or family. In communities wI~ere many people lacI; coverage or tI~eir numbers are ris- ing rapicIly, health often suffers among insurer! people as well as among tire uninsured. A variety of factors play a role. Communities that must devote incT eased public fiuncis to caring for tire uninsured often resoTt to cutting back on other meclical services aimed at the general population including cli'~ic-based primary care, specialty I~ealtl~ services, ant! I~ospital- based care, particularly emergency medical services anti trauma care. Also, since uninsured people generally are more likely to cIevelop comTnuT~icable diseases (and less likely to be fully vaccinated against Lucia cliseases), they may Chasten tire spreac! of infections throughout tire community.

INH)~NI/~! 7~E ~~ CkI11g:~AL I.~S IN BALM · ~ 1~4-~% {~ ~~ _ ~~.~.~.~ ~ ~.~.~.~ ~~ ~~ ~~' ~ .. r~ 17 pO:j~ ~ ~ I COW,) {A ~ t.~,'~<', 6']~ ~ ~ .0''>.'J }iced O.,~';~'o pit (.) ~."~.j or Am ~) ,5 2~'& DE ~ O.£~ MD ~ ~ 6?O, S. D c.; ~ ~ .9 -..o Po.~.~' Of Stotc ~ : Ur16~<f -. : t~6 [~}.~n I, 14 {~) 15 }~] <an,.] .~3£~O Probability of Being Uninsured for Populations Under Age 65, by State, 2()()1. SOURCE: A Shared Destiny, 2003, page 182. · Hicicie~? Costs, Value Lost: Uni/?surance in America (2003) describes the economic and social benefits that could be realized if everyone Lad med- ical insurance on a continuous basis. Tire potential value of tire improved healths outcomes expected to be gained fiom expanded coverage is esti- mated to range from $65 billion to $130 billion annually. (TI~e range results front different assumptions about tire extent to which dispa~ ities in health status would be eliminated by full coverage.) These benefits in "stealth cap- ital" capture in monetary terms tire value of an individual's health over future Yeats of life, including such factors as the subjective value of hieing alive and healthy, earing potential, and improved physical and mental development. Tire estimated economic returns are likely to outstrip tire cost of providing health insurance to all people who now lack coverage. Tire sixths and last report in tl~e series, to be published in January 2004, will help policy-mal~ers and consumers review ant] assess proposals to expand I,ealtI~ care insurance. National discussion of such proposals is expected to gain steam as the 2004 presidential election cycle gets under way. Specifically, tire IOM report will offer a set of general principles, sup- ported by research, against wl~icl~ specific proposals can be evaluated. t.~2

I!~ CARI~ DELITIRN! SV~SITi\] ,4~:) PERF-~]ANCE CAT3ARILI7~S (lancer ranks second only to Impart clisease as tile At ion's leading cause of deaths. Yet many types of cancers can be prevented or at least cletected early enough to make effective treatment possible by caging flow peo- ple behave. F''lfilli'~g the Potentin! of Cancer Prevention ails Early Detection (2003J examines tire extent to which tile burden of cancer can ire reducer! by promoting behavior al changes and outlines a national strategy to achieve sucks gains. In orcler to save tile most lives, Call care providers, health plans, insurers, employers, policy-~nakers, and researchers should be conce~t'ati'~g their resources off Whelping people to stop snowing, mai~- tain a beastly weight and diet, exercise regularly, keep alcohol consump- tio'~ at low to moderate levels, and get screened for- breast, cervical, and colorectal cancer. A 19 percent clecline in the rate at which new cancer cases occur and a 29 percent clecline in the rate of cancer Beatles could be acl~ievecl by the year 2015, if efforts to help people change behaviors that put them at risk are stepped up ant! if those people maintain their new tttestyies. ~ his WOUld equate to the prevention of approxin~ately 100,000 cancer cases and 60,000 cancer Beatles each year. These behavioral changes ~ . ~ . t ~ 1 ~ 80 - 70 - o :: Q o Q Q) 50- o o o o a) Q a) 60 - 40 - 30 20 10 - _ O- 1 1930 1 940 Luna and Bronchus ~ Her . .. . . . . ..... . . . .... ....... Stomach .; ~ / \ J J ~ ~ . .. ~ .. Colon and rectum Prostate \ \ _' ~ ~ Am ~ ~ fit ; Leukemia ,,.. ~ .., - I! ,, Pancreas ............................. ~;: _ 1 1 1 1950 1960 1970 1980 1 990 Age-ad lusted Cancer Death Rates,* for Males by Site, U.S. 1930-1 997.*Per 100,000, age- adjusted to the 197() standard population. NOTE: Due to changes in ICD coding, numer- ator information has changed over time. Rates for cancers of the liver, lung and bronchus, and colon and recount are affected by these coding changes. Data obtained from U.S. Mortality Public Use Data Tapes 1960-1968, U.S. Mortality Volumes 1930-1959, National Center for Health Statistics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2~)()(). SOURCE Fulfilling the Potential of Cancer Prevention and Early Detection, 2003, page 19. (.~3

[PNE;~/lI[.~(r 1~E F(f1-~L~~ 6~71~L ~~ IN -ANEW may help to alleviate, in particula'; the disproportionate burclen of cancer borne by members of certain racial and Bionic minority groups. The l~en- efits of promoting such behaviors also may extend beyonc! cancer to car- diovascular disease ant! clial~etes as well. Breast cancer strikes '~ore titan 180,000 women, ant! kills more titan 40,000 women, ilk tire Uniter! States Tacit yeas: Early detection of invasive tumors currently is tire best hope for reducing this disease burden—and X- ray man~mograpl~y screening is the mainstay for early detection. But this method leas its limits, ant! researchers are pursuing a range of new approaches. Ma~nn~ograpl~y and Beyond: Developing Technologies for the Early Detection of Breast Cancer (2001) icie~tifies promising technologies ant! explores their merits and drawbacI`s. Among tire technologies are modified versions of conventional mammography treat use computer programs to spot suspicious areas ant] alternative ~netI~ods of detec- tion such as magnetic resonance imaging and biocl~emi- cal testing of breast fluids. Tire report also details ways to improve tire development process. Actions include increasing government support for research on cancer Makers or biological characteristics associated with breast cancer; ensuring titan federal regulations regard- ing approval of detection devices are consistent arid as uncomplicated as possible; and developing snore co'~- prel~ensive and coordinated insurance mechanisms to cover screening tests. To Whelp r educe Else toll fir breast cancer as improved technologies make timid way into general use there remains a need to reacts many more women with screen- ing efforts. Tire report recomn~e'~ds several steps to optimize tire use of proven technologies currently available sucks as expanding federal screen- ing programs to include women without insurance arid determining whether there is (or soon will be) a shortage of radiologists trained in . . Breast Imaging. 455~' ~MM(~ATIt:~N ~~£~E Imn~unization offers a ~ iffily effective means of preventin serious ill- '~esses and Readies in cI~ildre'~ and adults. But tire nations system for financing immunization services leas developed gaps. In 2000 the IOM issued a report tI,at focused attention on Else uncertainties arid instability of the public health infrastructure that supports i~nmunizatio'~ programs Calling the Shots: l~nmunization Finance Policies and Practices proposed sever- ~ . .

-Arm c-~r fir S~rS]~M i'`N~ Pr~-~3~E ~AI3ARIl l~ al strategies to acicIress these concerns and to provicle an aclequate fund- ing level for immunization infrastructure. To help catalyze reforms, tire Centers for Disease Control and Prevention asker! the IOM to undertake a special effort to foster discussions among tire various public and private groups who participate directly or indirectly in the immunization system. In response, tire IOM Ibid a series of four workshops designed to increase awareness of tire conclusions and recommendations of Calling the Shots; built! consensus for initiatives to redesign tire infrastructure of tire immunization system, measure its performance, and finance its opera- tions; acid identify unresolved public health and Stealth finance issues a concerns at flee regional, state, and local levels Cleat require further atten- tion from public ant! private policy-mal~ers. Reports leave now been pub- lisheci on each of the workshops. Highlights of tire reports' which carry the general title Setting the Course: A Strategic Visions for Im~nu'~ization, include the following: · Part 1: Sunny ofthe Chicago Workshop (2002) e~npl~asizes tire need for collaborative strategies to engage tire healths care, business, and gov- ern~nent sectors in iclentifyillg OppO1 "unities to achieve public ilealtI~ im~nunizatio~ goals. Efforts are neecled to encourage private health plans and case providers to assume responsibility for ensuring treat large nun~- bers of children and adults receive needed immunizations within the com- munities Alley serve. New approaches tIlat use inforn~a- tion resources efficiently and reduce reliance Ott public funcling will be r equired to meet persistent and r outine immunization needs. ~ Part 2: Summary oft/e Austin Workshop (2002) rein- forces tire importance of collaboration, consultation, and partnership efforts across levels of government ant! between tire public ant] private sector: For Texas, in par- ticula~; efforts to improve vaccination rates, wl~icI~ are among the lowest in tire nation, are Amperes by many obstacles, inclucling tire state's increasing births rate acid national shortages of some vaccines. Legislative action presents one strategy for noosing al~eacl. For example, tire state night change its guiclelines to automatically place cl~ilciren on the immunization registry (unless they opt out of participating). Healths agencies anal pi ofes- sional groups also can establish incentives to encourage more care providers to participate ilk immunization programs. As s, .z ~~ .~; so) v sate ~ ~ b~ .~. so,, a,; i: it i. Em. `. .ss '>-. v. ~ a, A. .~ s s.<> s s .~S

3NF(~I'V(r art; /4 (jrj{~! [~ 6~] Ideal /~! ~~S IN ~EAl]~-] and Prevent Infectious ,~, Disease Jsurveillance ~sustain: :~ ~ ~ ~~ ~ ~ and Improve ~ ~/ ~ ~ , Coverage Rates ~ of Vaccine Coverage and Safety Six Roles ot the National ltntnunizatiot~ System. SOURCE: Setting the Course: A Strategic Vision for Immunization--Part 3: Summary of the Los Angeles Workshop, 2()()3, page 14. · Part 3: Summary of the Los Angeles Workshop (2003) finds that although state and local efforts to aid clinics and care providers have boosted im~u- nization coverage levels to tire national average, p~-oblen~s loom on the horizon. California's economic clow'~turn is expected to mean reductions in state and local funding for immunization services, and taxis dilemma is compounclec! by the high cost of new vaccines and the increasing cost of older vaccines. Tile high cost of vaccines also results in serious financial risk for many private providers who clepenci on reimbursements to cover their vaccine purchases To address such concerns, it will ire necessary to explore public policy tools that can air! in creating incentives for the pro- cluction ant] distributions of vaccines. Leadership also is neecled within tire public health community to ensure that immunization issues remain visi- ble anal receive adequate attention. · Part 4: Summary of the Washington, D.C., Workshop (2003) describes strategies to preserve and support traclitional public health efforts Such as ~ 1 , ~ ~ ~ ~ _ ~ ~ ~ _ ~ _ _ _ outreach, education, ant! monitoring and surve~ianceJ while also ~neetmg flew cle~nands associated witty delivering a I~igI~e~ p~-oportio~ of vaccines ifs tl~e private I~ealtl~ sector: Tire shift in immunization service settings leas created new stresses ant! tensions over tire appropriate roles of public health departments and the manner in which those roles should be financecI. One particular ciifB~culty facing bile public healths system is n~ain- taining vigilance even widen visible signs of infectious disease outbreaks

[~ arm C-ARE I S)rS'1~M ,41\S~ PERT-~3~A~JAN(,! C,4~3AR~F~rIE~S are not apparent. Developing a plan to determine flow the costs of immu- nizations efforts sI~ouIct be allocated across tire federal, state, and private health agencies also remains a significant challenge. The IOM also leas examiner! problems in flow vaccines are purchased ant! distributes! in tire stealth care system. Vaccine manufacture is not prof- itable foil pharmaceutical companies widen compared to drugs wield broad markets, such as tire class of statins titan prevent heart disease. At the same time, new vaccines are expensive, ant! mucks of the burden for their pur- cI~ase falls on governments at the federal and state level. Financing Vaccines ill the 21st Century: Assuring Access ancIAvailability (2003) calls for fundamen- tal changes to the system user! by the government to buy ant! distribute vaccines. Tire principle recommendation is treat current government pro- `~rams for purchasing vaccines be replacer! with a new government-funded insurance n~andate and voucher plan for vaccines that are approved by tire Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), which is the body Fiat recommends vaccines. The mandate wouIc! require all public and pri- vate health plans to include vaccine benefits, coupled with vouchers for uninsured children acid aclults. The r ole of tire federal government would be to reimburse plans ant! healths care providers for the costs of timid vac- cine purchases. The report also recommences changes in tire composition of tire ACIP and in tire procedures it uses for making decisions about vac- cines, in orde' to better clefine its mission. PCOM!j~G RE PORTS Improving Quality of Care. To Err Is Human: Building a Safer Health Systen?, ala IOM study issued in 2000, established that protecting patients from accidental injury cluring meclical treatment is a critical first step in improv- ing quality of care. Among its recommendations, tire report called for developing i~nprovec] systems for reporting patient safety cIata. At the request of tire Department of Healths and Suntan Services, tire IOM is con- clucting a stucly to develop a cletailec! plan to facilitate the generation of standards for the collection, coding, and classification of data Ol1 patient safety. It is expected that the standards will ~naxi~nize the usefulness of information derived fiom tile data collected, and in particular will enable comparisons to be made across reporting systems and over tine. ~ ~ . Another study is under way to identify I<ey aspects of tire work environ- ment for courses (in both acute and fong-term care delivery settings) that are likely to have an impact on patient safety. Efforts in recent years to ~7

lAl~;~A'lI`~(r WE Farm ~~ CKI11~AL [~,~? IN HE-,4~7YI! reduce costs and streamline tire delivery of healths care have lect to signifi- cant changes in tile workplace. In other industries, such significant changes often leave been accompanied by increased safety problems, but few studies leave addressed taxis issue in health care settings. Topics to be covered in the study inclucle the nature of the work performer! by nurses ant! nursing assistants, including sucks factors as workload ant! woricing hours; the effects of pressures to work quickly with numerous interrup- tions; tire effects of having to work witty poorly designee! processes or processes that are not stanclarclized; and tire impact of social, physical, and other barriers to effective communications among else care team. Tl~e study report will propose changes in nurses' working conditions Fiat potentially can enhance patient safety. U.S. consumers are increasingly using complementary and alternative medicines (CAMs), rattler titan relying solely on conventional therapies. With taxis increased use comes the need for scientific investigation to determine flow wiclely CAMs are being user! and whether tizzy are effective ant! safe. Tire IOM is contracting sucks a stucly. The objectives are to deter- n~ine which CAM s are ilk widespread use ant! what populations are using them; to critically assess tile risI<s ancI benefits of CAMs; and to describe policy indications arising Tom CAM use that Nay affect the continuing evolution of tire practice of meclicine acid the educations of physicians, allies! health professionals, anti practitioners of CAM therapies. Tire fincl- ings are expected to be useful to a variety or audiences, including govern- ment regulatory agencies ant] policy-makers, heath care organizations and care providers, researchers, pharmaceutical companies, anti members of the genera public. Cancer Detection ant! Treatment. Titers are approximately 9 million peo- ple in tire Unitec! States wire are cancer survivors but relatively little is known about their meclical care experiences following their initial treat- me~t or about tire psychological and social acljustn~ents that they must snake. While the spectrum of cat e for survivors Nay span primary care, psy- chosocial assessment and care, rehabilitative services, and palliative care, there is no clear consensus on who should provide services, what services are clinically appropriate, ant! whether tire cancer "system" is functioning to provide coorcli~ated services. Tire IOM is conducting a study to provide answers. It will result in separate reports focused on survivors of cI~ilcil~ood cancers ant! on adult survivors, and each report Will offer ~ecommencla- tions for improving the quality of care and the quality of life for their tar- get groups. A theirs report will focus off policies to improve psychosocial interventions for women With breast cancer.

i~f~Ai77-i CARI`- MY 517~Ti\] AiVD PLYkI.-~3Rf\1A,\~E ~A['ASIl-~.S A variety of new technologies inclucling crevices software programs and drugs loops promise for detecting breast cancer at an early stage widen it is most treatable. But tire pathway for taking a promising technology to tire clinic where it can be user] to Imp patients is fraught witty hurdles. The IOM is conducting a stucly to determine Silica of the existing and evolving approaches Voice tile greatest }promise for improving tire early detection and diagnosis of breast cancel; ant} to identify technological financial and regulatory obstacles that are limiting timid fume- clevelop- ment. Strategies will be iclentified to accelerate the flow of targeted flew approaches into clinical practice. Financing anc! Delivery of HIV Care. The Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency (CARE) Act provides meclical treatment ant] support services for uninsured or t~r~derinst~rec! people living witty HIV clisease. Widen the act was reauthorized in 2000 Congress directed the ION to stucly various aspects of its operation, particularly in the areas of data gatl~- ering and evaluations. Among issues lading acIciressed, tire study will deter- mine whether tire HIV surveillance system of each state reports HIV cases in a manner that provides adequate information on else number of such cases and their demographic characteristics. Also being examiner! is the availability acid utility of health outcomes measures foil HIV primary care and support t services, and tire extent to which that information can be used to measure the quality of funded services. Taxis information, along witty otiose study findings, will be useful in planning programs and allocating resources at local and national levels. In reauthorizing the Ryan White Care Act, Congress also directec! the IOM to study more broadly tire public financing and delivery of HIV servic- es. As tire HIV/AIDS epidemic has growls, titers has been a substantial increase ilk tire number and size of }public programs that provide care for people living with HlY, but the current system of public funcling still results in inequities in access to care. Tire study will acIcIress such issues as tire financing, and stealth clelivery challenges posed to HIV I~ealti, centers at tire local, state, and national levels; ~netI~ocIs for reclucing tile barriers tIlat peo- ple sometimes face in obtaining quality HIV heath services; ant! tire role of tire private insurance it ustry is assuring appropriate access to HIV care ant! treatment tI~ougI~out the entire course of HIV disease. The study report will propose a policy fia~nework acid ~ecommenciatio~s that will improve the continuity, equity, ant! efficiency of the systems that provide HlV care. ~c,,'

Selected Recommendations for Human Security and Bioterro~rism The Role of Technology in Countering Terrorism: Ensure production and distribu- tion of known treatments and preventatives for pathogens. Develops effective treat- ments and preventive measures for known pathogens for which current responses are unavailable arid for Potential emerging pathogens. Deploy known technologies and standards for allowing emergency responders to reliably communicate Witi1 each others Develop new and better technologies le.g., protective gear, sensors, and communications) for emergency responders. Ensure that trusted spokespersons will be able to inform the public promptly and witty technical authority whenever the technical aspects of an emergency are dominant in the pt~b~ic's concerns. (Making the Nation Safer: The Role of Science anc! Technology in Countering Terrorism, 2002) Focus on Vaccines: iOM recommends that better ways to administer vaccines should be developecI. Also, the Department of Defense should strengthen systems for detecting health problems that might occur months or years after the receipt of any vaccine, including the anthrax vaccine Future monitoring of adverse health effects should continue to include separate analyses of data for men and women. And finally, the Department of Defense should speed up its research to develop an improved vaccine. (The Anthrax Vaccine: Is It Safe? Does It Work?, 2002) Reducing the Psychological Consequences of Terrorism: The Department of Health and Human Services should develop evicience-based techniques, training, awl education in psychological first aid to address all hazards and all members of society before, during, and after a terrorism event in order to limit the psychologi- ca~ consequences of terrorism. DHHS Loud also develop public Stealth surveillance for pre- and post-event factors relevant to addressing tire psychological conse- quences of terrorism and develop n~et~ods of applying the findings through appro- priate interventions for groups of special interest. Academic health centers, profes- siona~ associations and societies for mental Stealth professionals, and state boards of education should ensure the education and training of Yenta health care providers, including community- and school-based mental Stealth care providers to respond to the psychological aftermath of terrorism, and should ensure the education and train- ing of relevant health professionals. DRIPS and the Department of l~omelanA Security should analyze federal, state, and local preparedness for terrorism to ensure that the nation's public ~ health infrastructure is prepared to adequately respond to psychological consequences.~(Preparing for the Psychological Consequences of :Terrorism: A Publics Healths Strategy, 2003)

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