Suchergebnisse

"The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is one of several federal agencies responsible for protecting Americans against significant risks to human health and the environment. As part of that mission, EPA estimates the nature, magnitude, and likelihood of risks to human health and the environment; identifies the potential regulatory actions that will mitigate those risks and protect public health1 and the environment; and uses that information to decide on appropriate regulatory action. Uncertainties, both qualitative and quantitative, in the data and analyses on which these decisions are based enter into the process at each step. As a result, the informed identification and use of the uncertainties inherent in the process is an essential feature of environmental decision making. EPA requested that the Institute of Medicine (IOM) convene a committee to provide guidance to its decision makers and their partners in states and localities on approaches to managing risk in different contexts when uncertainty is present. It also sought guidance on how information on uncertainty should be presented to help risk managers make sound decisions and to increase transparency in its communications with the public about those decisions. Given that its charge is not limited to human health risk assessment and includes broad questions about managing risks and decision making, in this report the committee examines the analysis of uncertainty in those other areas in addition to human health risks. Environmental Decisions in the Face of Uncertainty explains the statement of task and summarizes the findings of the committee."--Publisher's description

"Hypertension is one of the leading causes of death in the United States, affecting nearly one in three Americans. It is prevalent in adults and endemic in the older adult population. Hypertension is a major contributor to cardiovascular morbidity and disability. Although there is a simple test to diagnose hypertension and relatively inexpensive drugs to treat it, the disease is often undiagnosed and uncontrolled. A Population-Based Policy and Systems Change Approach to the Prevention and Control Hypertension identifies a small set of high-priority areas in which public health officials can focus their efforts to accelerate progress in hypertension reduction and control. It offers several recommendations that embody a population-based approach grounded in the principles of measurement, system change, and accountability. The recommendations are designed to shift current hypertension reduction strategies from an individual-based approach to a population-based approach. They are also designed to improve the quality of care provided to individuals with hypertension and to strengthen the Center for Disease Control and Prevention's leadership in seeking a reduction in the sodium intake in the American diet to meet dietary guidelines. The book is an important resource for federal public health officials and organizations, especially the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, as well as medical professionals and community health workers."--Publisher's description

"Interim Report of the Committee on Geographic Variation in Health Care Spending and Promotion of High-Value Health Care: Preliminary Committee Observations is designed to provide the committee's preliminary observations for the 113th Congress as it considers further Medicare reform. This report contains only key preliminary observations related primarily to the committee's commissioned analyses of Medicare Parts A (Hospital Insurance program), B (Supplementary Medical Insurance program) and D (outpatient prescription drug benefit), complemented by other empirical investigations. It does not contain any observations related to the committee's commissioned analyses of the commercial insurer population, Medicare Advantage, or Medicaid, which will be presented in the committee's final report after completion of quality-control activities. This interim report excludes conclusions or recommendations related to the committee's consideration of the geographic value index or other payment reforms designed to promote high value care. Additional analyses are forthcoming, which will influence the committee's deliberations. These analyses include an exploration of how Medicare Part C (Medicare Advantage) and commercial spending, utilization, and quality vary compared with, and possibly are influenced by, Medicare Parts A and B spending, utilization, and quality. The committee also is assessing potential biases that may be inherent to Medicare and commercial claims-based measures of health status. Based on this new evidence and continued review of the literature, the committee will confirm the accuracy of the observations presented in this interim report and develop final conclusions and recommendations, which will be published in the committee's final report"--Publisher's description