Preventive health care researchers meet to outline vision for evidence-based prevention in health care

Leading preventive health care researchers, physicians and executives assembled at U.S. Preventive Medicine® Friday to outline their vision for advancing evidence-based prevention in health care.

With health care at the forefront of the national discourse, the newly formed U.S. Preventive Medicine International Advisory Board seeks to advance preventive health care as an important way to save lives and reduce costs around the world.

The International Advisory Board will explore opportunities to provide scientific rigor and professional expertise to advance a culture of wellness. The group assembled on Friday to determine research objectives, forecast industry trends and discuss the role of prevention in health care reform. International Advisory Board co-chairs Ron Loeppke, MD, MPH, FACOEM, FACPM, and David Nash, MD, MBA, led the dialogue, along with U.S. Preventive Medicine chairman and CEO Christopher Fey. Dr. Loeppke is vice chairman of U.S. Preventive Medicine and Dr. Nash is the Dean of the Jefferson School of Population Health at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia.

Fey said, "We at U.S. Preventive Medicine are energized by this unprecedented collaboration of prevention and wellness pioneers. Most of the influential academic research, clinical practices and workplace programs over the last twenty years were spearheaded by members of this Board.  Bringing these great minds together presents a tremendous opportunity to move our health care system toward a more proactive approach focused on prevention."

Prevention is a concept gaining ground within the health care community. Seventy percent of U.S. deaths and 75 percent of health care costs stem from five preventable chronic conditions—heart disease, cancer, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and diabetes. Many of these deaths can be prevented through timely health screenings, healthy diets, exercise and other behavioral changes.  

Dr. Loeppke said, "Now is the time for our nation's health care system to move beyond the current illness oriented, reactive medical care model and adopt a more proactive, wellness-oriented health care model. This means scientifically rigorous prevention research; robust education and professional development; and the integration of prevention throughout the global health care ecosystem. Our collaboration of preventive health care innovators from the medical, academic and business communities is united in pursuit of that goal."

The Board will focus on the following objectives:

1. Mobilize thought leaders and professional organizations that are focused on the clinical, educational and practical elements of prevention.
2. Synthesize the literature and research findings of the scientific and economic case for prevention, including evidence based clinical prevention guidelines.
3. Crystallize a research agenda to evaluate the value of health and the power of prevention.
4. Create enduring material in the form of a journal supplement that will document the health impact of implementing a prevention model and detailing future areas of research.

Dr. Nash said, "The International Advisory Board is committed to moving preventive health care forward.  We will conduct research to quantify the value of prevention; explore global health risks and emerging trends; and provide direction for advancing a culture of health."  

Members of the newly-formed board include George Anderson, MD, MPH, retired major general of the U.S. Air Force and executive director of The Society of the Federal Health Agencies; Sir Mansel Aylward, CB, chair of Public Health Wales and director of the Centre for Psychosocial and Disability Research; Catherine Baase, MD, global director of health services for The Dow Chemical Company; Wayne N. Burton, MD, adjunct professor, University of Illinois Chicago; Robert N. Butler, MD, president and CEO of the International Longevity Center, USA; Michael Critelli, retired former chairman of Pitney Bowes; Dee W. Edington, PhD, director of the Health Management Research Center, University of Michigan; James F. Fries, MD, professor of medicine, emeritus, Stanford University; Ron Z. Goetzel, PhD, director of the Institute for Health and Productivity Studies, Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University and vice president of consulting and applied research for Thompson Reuters; Sandra Gibson Hassink, MD, director of the Nemours Pediatric Obesity Initiative, DuPont Hospital; Pamela A. Hymel, MD, MPH, FACOEM, senior director of integrated health and corporate medical director for Cisco Systems; Ronald C. Kessler, PhD, Department of Health Care Policy, Harvard Medical School; Jaspal S. Kooner, MBBS, MD, FRCP, head of clinical cardiology and consultant cardiologist, Ealing Hospital NHS Trust; M. Akram Khan, MD, FACC, FSCAI, president of The Center for Preventive Medicine North Texas and the Cardiac Center of Texas; John J. (Jack) Mahoney, MD, MPH chief medical officer, Center for Health Value Innovation;  Chris McSwain, director of global benefits for Whirlpool Corp.; Cyndy Nayer, MA, president and CEO, Center for Health Value Innovation; Sean Nicholson, PhD, associate professor, Department of Policy Analysis and Management at Cornell University; S. Jay Olshansky, PhD, professor, School of Public Health, The Population Research Center; Tom Parry, PhD, president of the Integrated Benefits Institute; and Andrew Webber, president and CEO, the National Business Coalition on Health.