The Institute and The National Academies use a unique process to obtain authoritative, objective, and scientifically balanced answers to difficult questions of national importance. Our work is conducted by committees of volunteer scientists--leading national and international experts--who serve without compensation.

Committees are carefully composed to assure the requisite expertise and to avoid bias or conflict of interest. Every report produced by our committees undergoes extensive review and evaluation by a group of external experts who are anonymous to the committee, and whose names are revealed only once the study is published. The results of these committee deliberations have been relied upon since 1970 to provide policy-makers with objective, scientifically sound advice. Read more on the study process.

The Institute's work centers principally on committee reports or studies on subjects ranging from quality of medical care to the national smallpox vaccination program; from centers of excellence at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to protecting the nation's food supply. We also convene roundtables, workshops or symposia that provide an opportunity for public- and private-sector experts to discuss contentious issues in an open environment that facilitates evidence-based dialogue.

Additionally, for more than 30 years, the IOM has managed The Robert Wood Johnson Health Policy Fellowships Program, designed to train outstanding mid-career health professionals in academic and community-based settings to assume leadership roles in health policy and management.

The majority of our studies and other activities are requested and funded by the federal government. Private industry, foundations, and state and local governments also initiate studies, as does the IOM itself.

The objective in all of our work is to improve decision-making by identifying and synthesizing relevant evidence to inform the deliberative process. Over its history, the IOM has become recognized through its projects as a national resource of judgment and veracity in the analysis of issues relating to human health.

Depending on the request, studies may be narrow in scope, designed to answer very specific and technical questions, or they may be broad-based examinations that span myriad academic disciplines, industries, and even international borders. Many of today's health news stories concern topics on which we have reported; others, like childhood obesity, are currently under study.

IOM Members

Institute of Medicine is both an honorific membership organization and a policy research organization. The Institute's members, elected on the basis of their professional achievement and commitment to service, serve without compensation in the conduct of studies and other activities on matters of significance to health. Election to active membership is both an honor and a commitment to serve in Institute affairs.

The bylaws of IOM specify that no more than 65 new members shall be elected annually. The announcement of newly elected members occurs at the IOM Annual Meeting in October. The number of regular members plus foreign associates and emeritus members is currently about 1,600.

An unusual diversity of talent among Institute members is assured by the charter stipulation that at least one-quarter be selected from outside the health professions, from such fields as the natural, social, and behavioral sciences, as well as law, administration, engineering, and the humanities. Read more about IOM Membership