Lowering Costs and Improving Quality of Care: IOM Report Release Sept. 6

The increasing complexity and escalating costs of health care in the U.S. threaten the nation's economic stability and undermine progress in improving Americans' health. Medical care lags behind many other industries in its ability to meet needs, offer choice, and become safer and more affordable to those it serves. BEST CARE AT LOWER COST: THE PATH TO CONTINUOUSLY LEARNING HEALTH CARE IN AMERICA, a new report from the Institute of Medicine, details ways to bring about better quality care at lower cost by harnessing existing knowledge and technologies. The report calls for a transformation of the health care system into one that continuously improves, and it describes the specific steps that should be taken by all participants -- including care providers, hospital and clinic managers, health insurers, policymakers, clinical researchers, and patients and their families -- to achieve this improved system.

The report will be released with a one-hour public briefing starting at 10 a.m. EDT Thursday, Sept. 6, in the First Amendment Lounge of the National Press Club, 529 14th St., N.W., Washington, D.C. Those who cannot attend may watch a live video webcast and submit questions through an e-mail link that will be available at www.nationalacademies.org. Participants from the committee that wrote the report are:

- Mark D. Smith (chair), president and CEO, California HealthCare Foundation, Oakland

- Gail H. Cassell, former vice president for scientific affairs and Distinguished Lilly Research Scholar for Infectious Diseases, Eli Lilly and Co., Indianapolis

- T. Bruce Ferguson Jr., chair, department of cardiovascular sciences, East Carolina Heart Institute, Greenville, N.C. 

- Craig Jones, director, Vermont Blueprint for Health, Williston

- Rita Redberg, professor of medicine, School of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco         

The report is embargoed and not for public release before 10 a.m. EDT Thursday, Sept. 6. Advance copies will be available to reporters only beginning at 10 a.m. EDT Tuesday, Sept. 4. Reporters: To obtain an embargoed copy, register for the briefing, and arrange interviews with committee members during the embargo period, contact the National Academies’ Office of News and Public Information; tel. 202-334-2138 or e-mail news@nas.edu.