IOM Topic: Quality and Patient Safety

To Err is Human: Building A Safer Health System

5/24/2012

This report lays out a comprehensive strategy by which government, health care providers, industry, and consumers can reduce preventable medical errors. Concluding that the know-how already exists to prevent many of these mistakes, the report sets as a minimum goal a 50 percent reduction in errors over the next five years.

Multiple Chronic Conditions & Clinical Practice Guidelines

5/22/2012

Reviewing issues and implications for clinical practice guidelines arising from co-occurring chronic conditions.

Evidence Communication Innovation Collaborative

5/22/2012

The Evidence Communication Innovation Collaborative explores strategies, obstacles, and feasibility for collaborative communication efforts to improve patient engagement in health care decision-making.

Clinical Effectiveness Research Innovation Collaborative

5/22/2012

An ad hoc convening activity to provide a venue for information exchange and knowledge sharing among researchers working to develop and apply innovative approaches to evidence generation.

Roundtable on Value & Science-Driven Health Care

5/22/2012

The IOM Roundtable on Value & Science-Driven Health Care convenes leadership from key healthcare sectors to catalyze the collaborative work needed to drive improvements in the effectiveness and efficiency of medical care, by transforming how evidence is developed and used in health care.

Reducing Tobacco-Related Cancer Incidence and Mortality

5/17/2012

NCPF Tobacco Workshop

Followup to a 1982 IOM Study on Research Issues in the Assessment of Birth Settings: A Workshop

5/16/2012

The IOM and the National Research Council will convene a committee to plan and conduct a two-day public workshop that will review updates to the 1982 IOM-NRC report Research Issues in the Assessment of Birth Settings. The workshop will feature invited presentations and discussions that will highlight research findings that advance our understanding of the effects, on maternal labor, clinical and other birth procedures, and birth outcomes, of maternal care services in different types of institutional settings, including conventional hospital labor and delivery wards and alternative birth settings that may be hospital-affiliated or free-standing.

Committee on Improving the Quality of Cancer Care: Addressing the Challenges of an Aging Population - Meeting 1

5/14/2012

This is the first meeting of the Committee on Improving the Quality of Cancer Care.

Roundtable on Health Literacy

5/14/2012

The mission of the Roundtable is to move forward the field of health literacy by translating research findings to practical strategies that can be implemented.

The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health

5/11/2012

The United States has the opportunity to transform its health care system, and nurses, as the largest segment of the nation’s health care workforce, can and should play a fundamental role in this transformation. In this report the IOM makes recommendations for an action-oriented blueprint for the future of nursing.

2011 Annual Report

5/9/2012

Annual Report

Gustav O. Lienhard Award

5/7/2012

The Gustav O. Lienhard Award, a medal and $40,000, recognizes individuals for outstanding achievement in improving health care services in the United States.

Nominations for the 2012 Lienhard Award and Sarnat Prize

5/3/2012

The Institute of Medicine is accepting nominations for The Gustav O. Lienhard Award and The Rhoda and Bernard Sarnat International Prize in Mental Health through Monday, May 7.

Creation of a Central Management Plan for Every New Drug Needed to Strengthen FDA's Oversight of Approved Drugs' Safety

5/1/2012

Although the approval of a new drug is based on evidence that its benefits outweigh its risks, the full range of a medication's effects may not become apparent until a product has been used by a larger, more diverse population over an extended period of time. Problems associated with the anti-diabetes drug Avandia, pain reliever Vioxx, and cholesterol-reducing drug Crestor illustrate the challenges and underscore the need for a more systematic and transparent process to collect, assess, and act on data about a medication's benefit-risk profile throughout its entire "life cycle" from approval until it is no longer marketed, says a new report by the Institute of Medicine.

Ethical and Scientific Issues in Studying the Safety of Approved Drugs

5/1/2012

Prescription drugs are crucial for preventing and treating diseases and improving the public’s health, but they can also have unintended harmful effects. Often, their benefits and risks cannot be fully identified until after a drug has been used by a large, diverse group of patients over time. The passage of the Food and Drug Administration Act in 2007 provides the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) with additional postmarketing regulatory tools to better protect the health of the public, including the authority to require manufacturers to continue studying drugs that are being marketed. The FDA asked the IOM to evaluate the scientific and ethical aspects of conducting safety studies for approved drugs. The IOM recommends implementing a life cycle approach to drug safety oversight that could allow the FDA to better anticipate post-approval research needs and improve drug safety for all Americans.

The Role of Telehealth in an Evolving Health Care Environment Workshop

4/26/2012

The IOM will host a public workshop to discuss how the use of telehealth technology can fit into the U.S. health care system. At the workshop, a panel will speak on the potential for telehealth to serve geographically isolated individuals and extend the reach of scarce resources while also emphasizing the quality and value in the delivery of health care services.

Workshop on The Role of Telehealth in an Evolving Health Care Environment

4/26/2012

Informatics Needs and Challenges in Cancer Research: A Workshop

4/25/2012

The National Cancer Policy Forum will hold a public workshop on February 27th and 28th, 2012 to examine the informatics needs and challenges for 21st century biomedical research, with a focus on the broad spectrum of cancer research, ranging from basic discovery science to translational research, product development, clinical trials, comparative effectiveness, and health services research.

Studying the Safety of Approved Drugs: IOM Report Releases May 1

4/25/2012

Although drugs undergo safety tests prior to approval, sometimes harmful effects do not become apparent until a product has been on the market for a while and has been used by a larger, more diverse population.

Innovations in Health Literacy Research - Workshop Summary

4/24/2012

Nearly nine out of 10 adults have difficulty using everyday health information to make good health decisions. The IOM Roundtable on Health Literacy held a meeting on May 27, 2010, to explore areas for research in health literacy, the relationship between health literacy and health disparities, and ways to apply information technology to improve health literacy.

Delivering Affordable Cancer Care in the 21st Century

4/24/2012

With the goal of ensuring that patients have access to high quality, affordable cancer care, the National Cancer Policy Forum will convene a public workshop, Delivering Affordable Cancer Care in the 21st Century, on October 8 and 9, 2012.

Improving the Quality of Cancer Care: Addressing the Challenges of an Aging Population

4/17/2012

An IOM committee will examine issues in the quality of cancer care with a specific focus on the demographic changes that will rapidly accelerate the number of new cancer diagnoses at a time when workforce shortages are predicted. The goal of this study is to revisit the quality of cancer care a decade after the first IOM report, Ensuring Quality Cancer Care, was published to determine what has changed, what challenges remain, whether new problems have emerged, and how health care reform might affect quality care. The study will consider quality of care from the perspectives of key stakeholders, including patients, health care providers, and payors.

The Role of Obesity in Cancer Survival and Recurrence - Workshop Summary

4/3/2012

Recent research suggests that obesity and excess weight can influence cancer survival and recurrence. Given the increasing rate of obesity and an aging population more susceptible to cancer, there is mounting concern about obesity’s role in fueling tumor growth. At an IOM workshop, experts presented the latest evidence on the obesity-cancer link and the possible mechanisms underlying that link, as well as potential interventions to mitigate the effects of obesity on cancer, and research and policy measures needed to counter the expected rise of cancer incidence and mortality due to an increasingly overweight and older population.

Crisis Standards of Care: A Systems Framework for Catastrophic Disaster Response

3/22/2012

Disasters can stress health care systems to the breaking point and disrupt delivery of vital medical services. Following its 2009 report, which defined crisis standards of care (CSC), the IOM develops important templates to guide the efforts of professionals and organizations responsible for CSC planning and implementation. The latest report provides a foundation of underlying principles, steps needed to achieve implementation, and the pillars of the emergency response system, each separate and yet together upholding the jurisdictions that have the overarching authority for ensuring that CSC planning and response occurs.

Core Metrics for Better Care, Lower Costs, and Better Health

3/21/2012

The workshop will explore issues related to measuring progress toward better care, lower costs, and better health for the nation’s population.

IOM Report Provides Framework and Tools to Deliver Health Care Effectively During Catastrophic Disasters

3/21/2012

While most areas of the country have systems in place to handle conventional disasters, such as a plane crash or building collapse, the infrastructure and systems to deliver health care during or following catastrophic situations, such as a widespread disease outbreak or a devastating earthquake, are rudimentary at best, says a new report from the Institute of Medicine. The report provides a resource manual to guide health care organizations, public health agencies, first responder teams, and government agencies in delivering care as effectively as possible to the greatest number of people when such disasters occur.

Workshop on Digital Data Priorities for Continuous Learning

3/20/2012

The workshop will explore issues related to data quality in the use of digital health data for knowledge generation and health improvement in a continuously learning health system.

Improving Translation of Animal Models for Nervous System Disorders: A Workshop

3/13/2012

An IOM committee will hold a two day workshop to discuss potential opportunities for maximizing the translation of effective therapies from animal models to clincal practice.

Guidance for Establishing Standards of Care for Use in Disaster Situations

3/12/2012

In response to a request from the HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary of Preparedness and Response, the Institute of Medicine has convened an ad hoc committee to conduct a 2-phase activity on standards of care for use in disaster situations.

"Like" the IOM on Facebook

3/6/2012

For every new "like" on the IOM's Facebook page, a donor will contribute $1 toward improving the nation's health, up to $5,000.