The Institute of Medicine last week hosted a three-day summit at the National Academy of Sciences to discuss and promote “integrative medicine” – whole-body wellness care that considers people’s lifestyles and mind-body connections and aims to prevent illness.
The event, held Wednesday through Friday and broadcast live, in part, on the Web, was meant to draw attention to the concept at a time when President Obama and Congress are preparing to tackle ambitious health care reforms.
Just two weeks ago, the Commonwealth Fund also made a high-profile statement on its own priorities for a “high-performing” health care system, recommending insurance, provider payment and system reforms to control costs while expanding coverage.
The IOM’s summit included discussions about the logistics of integrative medicine – what it takes to make it happen – as well as the economic realities that could get in the way, work force-related challenges, and how evidence from research should shape medical practices.
Panels also examined different models to promote health and wellness, offer a “medical home” to each patient, and ensure integrated, continuous care for the chronically ill, as well as efforts to improve care for the underserved.
In addition, there were presentations on genomic/predictive medicine, social determinants of health, mind-body medicine and other specialized research areas.
For more information about the summit, including recordings of the presentations, go to www.iom.edu.
