Embracing science, continued...

Also out today, the Department of Health and Human Services announces a new initiative entitled, "Partnership for Patients: Better Care, Lower Costs". From my initial reading, it looks like a 1 billion dollar investment, mostly in implementation of existing prevention approaches.

I'm sure we'll comment further as more details emerge, but I would like to highlight this paragraph from SHEA's statement on this initiative, which appropriately focuses on the need to advance the science of prevention (italics, for emphasis, are mine):

As the Obama Administration moves forward, we urge officials to think beyond the changes that past practice has suggested can make a difference, as well as the financial incentives and disincentives that ostensibly prompt providers to modify how they work. To really be successful, both now and in the long term, the NPSI must invest in the medical research and technology that will identify how the nation’s health system can avoid errors in care. The initiative also must be able to track and validate improvements through standardized measures and solid data. If we focus on implementation without advancing the science, we will fall short of immediate goals and risk being equally unprepared for future exigencies.

Photo credit: Kathleen Sebelius, HHS director, with Elmo. From the NY Daily News.

Addendum: Don't miss Bob Wachter's post on this initiative, here.