About Reports

IOM reports provide objective and straightforward advice to decision makers and the public. This site includes IOM reports published after 1998. All reports from the IOM and the National Academies, including those published before 1998, are available from the National Academies Press.

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  Assessing and Improving Value in Cancer Care. Workshop Summary Released: November 4, 2009

  Like other areas of health care, oncology is under pressure to control expenses while improving patient outcomes and the quality of care. Unlike many other areas of health care, however, oncology faces unique challenges that can make it especially difficult to control costs. On February 9-10, 2009, the National Cancer Policy Forum held a workshop to explore these issues from multiple perspectives, including those of patients and patient advocates, providers, insurers, health care researchers, federal agencies, and industry. Assessing and Improving the Value in Cancer Care summarizes workshop discussions and presentations.
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  Integrative Medicine and the Health of the Public: A Summary of the February 2009 Summit Released: November 4, 2009

  On February 25-27, 2009, the Institute of Medicine convened the Summit on Integrative Medicine and the Health of the Public in Washington, DC. The Summit brought together more than 600 scientists, academic leaders, policy experts, health practitioners, advocates, and other participants from many disciplines to examine the practice of integrative medicine, its scientific basis, and its potential for improving health.
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  Guidance for Establishing Crisis Standards of Care for Use in Disaster Situations Released: September 24, 2009

  There is an immediate and critical need to prepare for a public health emergency in which thousands, tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands of people suddenly require and seek medical care in communities across the United States. In the event of such emergencies, officials rely on standards of care policies and protocols to protect the public’s health. The IOM’s report Guidance for Establishing Crisis Standards of Care for Use in Disaster Situations is focused on articulating current concepts and guidance that can assist in the development of systematic and comprehensive policies and protocols for crisis standards of care in disasters where resources are scarce.
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  The National Emergency Care Enterprise: Advancing Care through Collaboration. Workshop Summary Released: September 9, 2009

  In 2006, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) released a series of three reports on the Future of Emergency Care in the United States Health System. Following the release of the IOM reports, the federal government established the “National Emergency Care Enterprise,” a collaborative construct that covers federal government activities across the entire spectrum of emergency care. On May 21-22, 2009, the IOM hosted a workshop to bring stakeholders and policy makers together to examine the progress in the past three years in moving the nation towards the IOM’s broader vision of a “regionalized, coordinated, and accountable” emergency care system.
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  Race, Ethnicity, and Language Data: Standardization for Health Care Quality Improvement Released: August 31, 2009

  The quality of health care in the United States is not optimal, and the pace of improvement is slow. In addition, disparities persist for specific population groups. A fundamental step in identifying which populations are most at risk is to col¬lect data on race, ethnicity, and English-language proficiency. The Institute of Medicine (IOM) formed the Subcommittee on Standardized Col¬lection of Race/Ethnicity Data for Healthcare Quality Improvement to examine ap¬proaches to standardization. In its 2009 report, Race, Ethnicity, and Language Data: Standardization for Health Care Quality Improvement, the subcommittee recommends collection of more granular ethnicity and language need according to national standards in addition to OMB race and Hispanic ethnicity categories.
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  Evaluating Occupational Health and Safety Research Programs: Framework and Next Steps Released: August 25, 2009

  Each year, approximately 5,000 fatal work-related injuries and 4 million non-fatal injuries and illnesses occur in the United States. This number represents both unnecessary human suffering and high economic costs. In order to assist in better evaluating workplace safety and create safer work environments, the Institute of Medicine conducted a series of evaluations of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) research programs, assessing the relevance and impact of NIOSH’s work on improving worker safety and health.
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  Initial National Priorities for Comparative Effectiveness Research Released: June 30, 2009

  Clinical research presents health care providers with information on the natural history and clinical presentations of disease as well as diagnostic and treatment options. Comparative effectiveness research (CER) identifies what works best for which patients under what circumstances. Congress, in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009, tasked the Institute of Medicine (IOM) to recommend national priorities for research questions to be addressed by CER and supported by ARRA funds. In its 2009 report, Initial National Priorities for Comparative Effectiveness Research, the authoring committee establishes a working definition of CER, develops a priority list of research topics, and identifies the necessary requirements to support a robust and sustainable CER enterprise.
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  Resident Duty Hours: Enhancing Sleep, Supervision, and Safety Released: December 15, 2008

  Medical residency in the United States aims to prepare recent medical school graduates to practice medicine independently. Residents often work long hours with limited time off to catch up on their sleep. However, many medical educators believe extensive duty hours are essential to provide residents with the educational experiences they need to become competent in diagnosing and treating patients. Resident Duty Hours: Enhancing Sleep, Supervision, and Safety asserts that revisions to medical residents’ workloads and duty hours are necessary to better protect patients against fatigue-related errors and to enhance the learning environment for doctors in training.
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  From Molecules to Minds: Challenges for the 21st Century. Workshop Summary Released: September 29, 2008

  On June 25, 2008, the IOM Forum on Neuroscience and Nervous System Disorders hosted more than 70 of the leading neuroscientists in the world, for a workshop titled From Molecules to Minds: Challenges for the 21st Century. The objective of the workshop was to explore a set of common goals or “Grand Challenges” posed by participants that could inspire and rally both the scientific community and the public to consider the possibilities for neuroscience in the 21st century.
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  The National Children's Study Research Plan: A Review Released: September 12, 2008

  The National Children s Study (NCS) is planned to be the largest long-term study of environmental and genetic effects on children s health ever conducted in the United States. By archiving all of the data collected, the NCS is intended to provide a valuable resource for analyses conducted many years into the future. This report evaluates the research plan for the NCS, by assessing the scientific rigor of the study and the extent to which it is being carried out with methods, measures, and collection of data and specimens to maximize the scientific yield of the study.