Vital Directions For Health And Health Care: Priorities For 2021

Area of Science:

• Health Policy
• Public Health
• Biomedical Science

Background:

• The National Academy of Medicine initiated a strategic series in 2016 to address pressing health and health care priorities.
• The "Vital Directions for Health and Health Care" series provides nonpartisan, evidence-based analysis.
• A new collection of articles in Health Affairs expands on this initiative, focusing on issues needing urgent attention from the incoming administration.

Purpose of the Study:

• To provide expert guidance on critical health and health care priorities for the incoming US administration.
• To address key issues including health costs and financing, maternal and child health, mental health and addiction, elder care, and infectious disease threats.
• To incorporate lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on health inequities.

Main Methods:

• The initiative involved marshaling expert guidance to produce evidence-based analysis.
• Articles were published in Health Affairs, building upon the initial Vital Directions series.
• The analysis considers current experiences, including the COVID-19 pandemic and health disparities.

Main Results:

• The series identifies and analyzes critical issues in health, health care, and biomedical science.
• Specific focus areas include health costs, maternal and child health, mental health and addiction, care for older adults, and infectious disease threats.
• The findings highlight the impact of COVID-19 on health inequities and provide forward-looking recommendations.

Conclusions:

• Urgent attention is needed from the next administration on the identified health priorities.
• The COVID-19 pandemic underscores the importance of addressing health inequities and preparing for future infectious disease threats.
• Evidence-based analysis is crucial for informing policy and action to improve health and health care.