Introducing samples of health disparities policy issues.

The goal of this blog is to highlight relevant disparities issues, progress in the reduction (or lack thereof) of health disparities in America and globally, and to identify innovative approaches to addressing those disparities associated with unnecessary societal burden of disease. IAMMM expects to focus on the issues surrounding the existence of health disparities through the lenses of those suffering from them, until health disparities are no longer a major societal challenge. To prepare the new reader of our blog for the upcoming commentaries from some of the major contributors to the august 22/23 Summit on Health Equity, let me enumerate here some of the major themes the will be covered. Our program will give attention to the following issues: a review of the past decade and more of the nature and dimensions of health disparities; an examination of the health disparities' reduction goals of Healthy People - 2020; a review of plans for adjustment to the health clinical care workforce to accomodate coverage of an expanded population; a review of progress and plans for meeting existing and projected research needs in health disparities; innovations and initiatives in public health, prevention and health promotion; innovations and trends in meeting the complex needs of acute and chronic clinical care and the changing demography of an aging population; the cost-effectiveness of integrative (complementary) medicine and health care with relation to health disparities reduction; the impact of social/economic status on health status and disparities; analysis of the Health Reform Act and it's potential impact and relevance to the reduction of our national disease burden through health disparities reduction; health information technology and it's potential impact on improving quality and efficiency in the health care delivery systems; and finally, some models of innovative approaches in the US and globally tha deserve our attention as we look to future strategies for improvement. More to come from those hard at work on the development of the August Summit!