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THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES
Institute of Medicine
Committee on Quality of Health Care in America

*****

Congressional Briefings
Wednesday, February 28, 2001
2318 Rayburn House Office Bldg. -- 2:00 p.m.
430 Dirksen Senate Office Bldg. -- 4:00 p.m.

on

CROSSING THE QUALITY CHASM:
A NEW HEALTH SYSTEM FOR THE 21ST CENTURY

by

William C. Richardson, President and CEO, W.K. Kellogg Foundation, Battle Creek, MI and Chair, Committee on Quality of Health Care in America, Institute of Medicine

Donald M. Berwick, President and CEO, Institute for Healthcare Improvement, Boston, Mass and Member, Committee on Quality of Health Care in America, Institute of Medicine

J. Cris Bisgard, Director, Health Services, Delta Air Lines, Inc., Atlanta, GA, and Member, Committee on Quality of Health Care in America, Institute of Medicine

Molly Joel Coye, Senior Fellow, Institute for the Future, and President, Health Technology Center, San Francisco, CA, and Member, Committee on Quality of Health Care in America, Institute of Medicine

Three years ago, the Institute of Medicine undertook a major initiative to identify strategies for significantly improving the quality of health care in America. Its first report was released in 1999 and focused specifically on patient safety and the elimination of medical errors. Far broader in scope, the initiative's newest report, Crossing the Quality Chasm: A New Health System for the 21st Century, proposes a comprehensive plan to address serious shortcomings in the health care delivery system, including the creation of a an "innovation fund" of $1 billion for use during the next three to five years to help subsidize promising projects and communicate the need for rapid and significant change throughout the health system.

A series of briefings for members of Congress and congressional staff were held on February 28, 2001. The report was publicly released on March 1. The report, in its entirety, is available on-line through the Web site of the National Academies Press.