Today, perhaps more than ever, health care is a key item on the nation's agenda. Government policy makers, health professionals, scientists, industrial and civic leaders, patient advocates, and private citizens across the social spectrum are focusing on how best to obtain a high-quality health system that is efficient and affordable in its operation and that functions well for everyone.

The Institute of Medicine (IOM) regularly considers this challenge from a variety of perspectives. Recent efforts have focused on improving the organization and operation of the nation's largest health agency; working to assess what diagnostic, therapeutic, and preventive services work best; gauging the overall health of the nation's population; and identifying ways to build an even stronger foundation of evidence-based medicine that effectively captures the promise of scientific discovery and technological innovation and enables doctors, nurses, and other health professionals to provide the right care for the right patient at the right time.

The body of this book illustrates the work of IOM committees in selected, major areas in recent years, followed by a description of IOM's convening and collaborative activities and fellowship programs. The last section provides a comprehensive bibliography of IOM reports published since 2007.

Contents

• The Institute of Medicine: Advising the Nation, Improving Health
• Charting a Course for the Future of Health Care
  • Revitalizing Health and Human Services
  • Assessing what works in health care
  • Advancing evidence-based health care
  • Gauging the nation’s health
• Meeting the Unique Health Needs of Women and Children
  • Improving women’s health during pregnancy
  • Reviewing federal family planning programs
  • Reducing depression’s grip on parents and children
  • Improving adolescent health services
  • Improving mental, emotional, and behavioral health among young people
  • Assessing early childhood enrichment programs
  • Critiquing a national child health study research plan
• Improving the Nation’s Health Care System
  • Creating a health care system that works well
  • Advancing the national health agenda
  • Ensuring that those who need care can receive care
• Stretching Across International Borders
  • Meeting the global need for U.S. commitment
  • Confronting infectious diseases
  • Assessing treatment of disease
• Eating Right: Keeping America Healthy
  • Educating children and teens
  • Fighting fat
  • Reviewing national school meal programs
  • Determining nutrient needs
• Managing Threats and Ensuring Healthy Communities: Health of the Public
  • Preventing disease, early detection, and effective treatment
  • Reducing environmental and foodborne threats
  • Improving emergency preparedness
• Taking Care of Those Who Take Care of Us: Military and Veterans
  • Assessing the health effects of the Gulf War
  • Tracking the health effects of Agent Orange
  • Fostering the well-being of military personnel
• Advancing Knowledge and Shaping a Research Agenda
  • Examining today’s research
  • Assessing government research programs
  • Looking toward tomorrow
• Convening and Collaborating: Forums and Roundtables
  • Food Forum
  • Forum on Drug Discovery, Development, and Translation
  • Forum on Microbial Threats
  • Forum on Neuroscience and Nervous System Disorders
  • National Cancer Policy Forum
  • Forum on Medical and Public Health Preparedness for Catastrophic Events
  • Roundtable on Health Literacy
  • Roundtable on Environmental Health Sciences, Research, and Medicine
  • Roundtable on Evidence-Based Medicine
  • Roundtable on Translating Genomic-Based Research for Health
  • Roundtable on Health Disparities
• Producing Tomorrow’s Health Leaders: Fellowships at the Institute of Medicine
  • Robert Wood Johnson Health Policy Fellowships
  • IOM Anniversary Fellows Program
  • Distinguished Nurse Scholar Program
• Recent and Upcoming Reports
  • Recent reports (2007–2009)
  • Upcoming reports
• Contact Us

Funding: This document was produced using internal IOM funds.

Suggested citation:

IOM (Institute of Medicine). 2009. Informing the Future: Critical Issues in Health, Fifth Edition. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.

The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. Upon the authority of the charter granted to it by the Congress in 1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and technical matters. Dr. Ralph J. Cicerone is president of the National Academy of Sciences.

The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences, as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. It is autonomous in its administration and in the selection of its members, sharing with the National Academy of Sciences the responsibility for advising the federal government. The National Academy of Engineering also sponsors engineering programs aimed at meeting national needs, encourages education and research, and recognizes the superior achievements of engineers. Dr. Charles M. Vest is president of the National Academy of Engineering.

The Institute of Medicine was established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences to secure the services of eminent members of appropriate professions in the examination of policy matters pertaining to the health of the public. The Institute acts under the responsibility given to the National Academy of Sciences by its congressional charter to be an adviser to the federal government and, upon its own initiative, to identify issues of medical care, research, and education. Dr. Harvey V. Fineberg is president of the Institute of Medicine.

The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy’s purposes of furthering knowledge and advising the federal government. Functioning in accordance with general policies determined by the Academy, the Council has become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Aca2demy of Engineering in providing services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. The Council is administered jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Ralph J. Cicerone and Dr. Charles M. Vest are chair and vice chair, respectively, of the National Research Council.