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Date:  Oct. 13, 2008

Contacts:  Christine Stencel, Senior Media Relations Officer

Alison Burnette, Media Relations Assistant

Office of News and Public Information

202-334-2138; e-mail <news@nas.edu>

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

John E. Wennberg Wins Institute of Medicine's 2008 Lienhard Award

WASHINGTON -- The Institute of Medicine today presented the 2008 Gustav O. Lienhard Award to John E. Wennberg, the Peggy Y. Thomson Chair for the Evaluative Clinical Sciences, and founder and director emeritus of the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice, Lebanon, N.H.  The award honors Wennberg for his leading role in reshaping the U.S. health care system to focus on objective evidence and outcomes rather than physician preference as the basis for treatment decisions, and for his efforts to empower patients with greater input on decisions about their own care.  His work has inspired an international movement promoting informed patient choice.

"John Wennberg is duly renowned for his impact on the evolution of health care delivery in the United States," said Harvey V. Fineberg, president of the Institute of Medicine.  "His painstaking documentation of deep, regional differences in health care delivery and quality provided the foundation for many important changes in health care, including increasing recognition of the importance of evidence-based medicine to guide health care delivery and the movement toward patient-centered care.  He is a man of courage, steadfast determination, and keen intelligence whose work is the basis for many improvements in health care quality and efficiency."

Wennberg is widely recognized for pioneering research on health care outcomes and patient-directed care.  Using small-area analysis, a strategy developed by Wennberg and his colleague Alan Gitlesohn, he showed that rates of procedures in areas with similar populations varied greatly, and determined that the variations stemmed primarily from differences in physicians' treatment preferences.  His discoveries challenged the medical profession to acknowledge that most care was based on tradition or opinion rather than on objective evidence of what is most effective.  He founded and served as the first editor of the Dartmouth Atlas of Health Care, which has reported on patterns of end-of-life care, inequities in the Medicare reimbursement system, and the underuse of preventive care.  Wennberg's research on measuring the outcomes of care helped shape the legislation that created the Agency for Health Care Quality and Research within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.  "Pay for performance" -- the idea of basing physician reimbursement on meeting performance standards, which is gaining wide acceptance -- grew out of a model Wennberg devised. 

In addition, Wennberg has been a champion of sharing information about the benefits and risks of therapeutic options with patients so that they can participate in decisions about their care.  He co-founded, with colleague Albert Mulley, the Foundation for Informed Medical Decision Making, a nonprofit corporation providing objective scientific information to patients about their treatment choices.  He also co-founded, with James Weinstein, the Center for Shared Decision Making at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, the first entity in the United States to promote patients' involvement as partners in treatment decisions.

Wennberg received his M.D. from McGill Medical School, Montreal, Canada, in 1961, and his M.P.H. from the Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health, Baltimore, in 1966.  He is a member of the Institute of Medicine and the Johns Hopkins University Society of Scholars.  He has received numerous awards, including the Association for Health Services Research's Distinguished Investigator Award, the Richard and Hinda Rosenthal Foundation Award in Clinical Medicine, the Baxter Foundation's Health Services Research Prize, and, with Albert Mulley, the Picker Institute Award for Advancement of Patient Centered Care.

Wennberg is the 23rd recipient of the Lienhard Award, which includes a medal and a $25,000 prize.  Given annually, the award recognizes outstanding national achievement in improving personal health care services in the United States.  Nominees are eligible for consideration without regard to education or profession, and award recipients are selected by a committee of experts convened by the Institute of Medicine.  This year's committee was chaired by Donald Berwick, M.D., president and chief executive officer, Institute for Healthcare Improvement.

The Lienhard Award is funded by an endowment from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.  Gustav O. Lienhard was chair of the foundation's board of trustees from the organization's establishment in 1971 to his retirement in 1986 -- a period in which the foundation moved to the forefront of American philanthropy in health care.  Lienhard, who died in 1987, built his career with Johnson & Johnson, beginning as an accountant and retiring 39 years later as its president.  Additional information about the Lienhard Award can be found at www.iom.edu/lienhard.   

Established in 1970 under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences, the Institute of Medicine provides independent, objective, evidence-based advice to policymakers, health professionals, the private sector, and the public.  The National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, Institute of Medicine, and National Research Council make up the National Academies.

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[ This news release is available at http://national-academies.org ]