IOM quality study targets 20 priority areas

The revolutionary report is the latest from the Institute of Medicine aimed at improving patient care.

By Andis Robeznieks, AMNews staff. Feb. 17, 2003.

Narrowing the gap between what is common practice and what is recognized as the best medical practice is the goal behind an Institute of Medicine study identifying 20 key areas where quality improvement could "transform" health care delivery.

To establish the 20 target areas, a study committee judged the disabling, mortality and economic impact particular medical conditions have on patients, families and communities.

The committee also evaluated a condition's "improvability" (likelihood the gap between current and best practices could be closed), and its inclusiveness in regard to age, gender, socioeconomic status and ethnicity.

"The key thing is that it's a terrific set of starting points to improve quality of care in this country," said committee Chair George J. Isham, MD, medical director of Bloomington, Minn.-based HealthPartners Inc.

"It's not about finding new solutions for heart disease," he said. "It's about taking what we already know about heart disease and delivering it to the people with heart disease."

Unlike other medical reports that create a stir and then gather dust on bookshelves, Dr. Isham said that "Priority Areas for National Action: Transforming Health Care Quality" has the potential for "revolutionizing health care delivery."

He described how "Transforming Health Care Quality" follows in the footsteps of the IOM reports "To Err is Human: Building a Safer Health System" and "Crossing the Quality Chasm: A New Health System for the 21st Century" and how the priority areas originated from a list of recommendations contained in that second landmark report.