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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  A Review of the NIOSH Roadmap for Research on Asbestos Fibers and Other Elongate Mineral Particles Released: October 29, 2009

  Prior and ongoing exposures to asbestos continue to contribute to respiratory diseases including mesothelioma, lung cancer, and asbestosis despite the fact that asbestos is no longer mined in the United States. To examine ongoing issues and concerns in this field, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) released a draft research roadmap in January 2009. In its 2009 report, A Review of the NIOSH Roadmap for Research on Asbestos Fibers and Other Elongate Mineral Particles, the IOM finds that NIOSH has put together a comprehensive and broad-based research Roadmap that could be improved through implementing a systematic and interdisciplinary approach to the outlined research.
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  Global Issues in Water, Sanitation, and Health. Workshop Summary Released: September 25, 2009

  Worldwide, over one billion people lack access to an adequate water supply. Recognizing water availability, water quality, and sanitation as fundamental issues underlying infectious disease emergence, the IOM’s Forum on Microbial Threats held a two-day public workshop.
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  Sustaining Global Surveillance and Response to Emerging Zoonotic Diseases Released: September 22, 2009

  Zoonotic diseases can threaten both health and economies around the world. Unfortunately, for several reasons, disease surveillance in the United States and abroad is not very effective in alerting officials to emerging zoonotic diseases. In response to this challenge, the Institute of Medicine and National Research Council’s 2009 report Sustaining Global Surveillance and Response to Emerging Zoonotic Diseases calls for the United States to take the lead, working with global health organizations to establish a global surveillance system that better integrates the human and animal health sectors, resulting in improved early detection and response.
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  Addressing the Threat of Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis: A Realistic Assessment of the Challenge. Workshop Summary Released: August 26, 2009

  Tuberculosis is one of the leading causes of death in the world today, with 4,500 people dying from the disease every day. Many cases of TB can be cured by available antibiotics, but some TB is resistant to multiple drugs--a major and growing threat worldwide. The Institute of Medicine’s Forum on Drug Discovery, Development, and Translation hosted a workshop on November 5, 2008, to address the mounting concern of drug-resistant TB. The session brought together a wide range of international experts to discuss what is known and not known about this growing threat, and to explore possible solutions.
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  Live Variola Virus: Considerations for Continuing Research Released: July 10, 2009

  Smallpox was a devastating disease that plagued humankind throughout history. Its eradication in 1980 was a monumental achievement for the global health com¬munity. All acknowledged stocks of variola virus, the causative agent of smallpox, or materials that might contain the virus, have been transferred to two World Health Organization approved repositories. During the period since eradication, the World Health Assembly (WHA) has debated whether to retain or destroy these stocks of live variola virus. This question will be reconsidered in 2010. In anticipation of this decision, the IOM was asked to revisit the question of sci¬entific needs for live variola virus.
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  Ensuring Quality Cancer Care through the Oncology Workforce: Sustaining Care in the 21st Century. Workshop Summary Released: April 24, 2009

  The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) predicts that by 2020, there will be an 81 percent increase in people living with or surviving cancer but only a 14 percent increase in the number of practicing oncologists. As a result, there may be too few oncologists to meet the population’s need for cancer care. To help address the challenges in overcoming this potential crisis of cancer care, the National Cancer Policy Forum of the Institute of Medicine (IOM) convened the workshop “Ensuring Quality Cancer Care through the Oncology Workforce: Sustaining Care in the 21st Century” in Washington, DC on October 20 and 21, 2008.
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  Microbial Evolution and Co-Adaptation. A Tribute to the Life and Scientific Legacies of Joshua Lederberg. Workshop Summary Released: March 27, 2009

  Dr. Joshua Lederberg – scientist, Nobel laureate, visionary thinker, and friend of the Forum on Microbial Threats – died on February 2, 2008. It was in his honor that the Institute of Medicine’s Forum on Microbial Threats convened a public workshop on May 20-21, 2008, to examine Dr. Lederberg’s scientific and policy contributions to the marketplace of ideas in the life sciences, medicine, and public policy. The resulting workshop summary, Microbial Evolution and Co-Adaptation, demonstrates the extent to which conceptual and technological developments have, within a few short years, advanced our collective understanding of the microbiome, microbial genetics, microbial communities, and microbe-host-environment interactions.
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  Breakthrough Business Models: Drug Development for Rare and Neglected Diseases and Individualized Therapies. Workshop Summary Released: February 19, 2009

  The process for developing new drug and biologic products is extraordinarily expensive and time-consuming—many consider the traditional model to be unsustainable. Although large pharmaceutical companies may be able to invest in the development of blockbuster drugs because they can expect a large return on their investment, these same organizations, when developing drugs to treat rare and neglected diseases, are unable to rely on such returns. On June 23, 2008, the Institute of Medicine’s Forum on Drug Discovery, Development, and Translation held a public workshop, “Breakthrough Business Models: Drug Development for Rare and Neglected Diseases and Individualized Therapies,” which sought to explore new and innovative strategies for developing drugs for rare and neglected diseases.