Common Goals Fuel ASHP Involvement In AHA Health Care Reform Initiative, USA

Main Category: Public Health
Article Date: 15 Nov 2007 - 4:00 PDT

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ASHP is striving to make its vision of full health insurance coverage for people living in the U.S. a reality as a key player in the American Hospital Association (AHA)'s new health care reform initiative, Health for Life.

Health for Life is a broad based initiative that is gathering input from stakeholders to develop specific recommendations for reducing health care costs, improving patient care, and creating a more efficient system as the country inches closer to the 2008 presidential election.

The initiative is focused on six areas, including information technology, chronic care management, and wellness. ASHP's involvement in the initiative is the result of an ongoing relationship with the association and the shared goal of affordable health care, an area of focus for the AHA initiative and an official ASHP policy.

"The goals of the Health for Life align with ASHP policy on health insurance coverage and dovetail nicely with the Society's Health-System Pharmacy 2015 Initiative," said Henri R. Manasse, Jr., Ph.D., Sc.D., ASHP CEO and EVP, "We are pleased that the AHA took note of our ongoing efforts to improve medication safety in hospitals and health systems and asked us to be a part of this groundbreaking effort."

In 2005, the Society adopted a policy calling for full health insurance coverage for people living in the U.S. A goal of the ASHP's 2015 Initiative is to boost ways health systems help patients use medications safely. Similarly, Health for Life seeks to reverse the trend of avoidable illness. Health for Life also calls for a focus on wellness, the highest quality care for patients, and the best information about health care for the public.

Such health care goals come at an important time: Americans believe health care should be a top issue for 2008 presidential candidates, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. In addition, chronic illness in America is on the rise, a trend Health for Life intends to turn around.

The stakeholder groups will wrap up their work by year's end. AHA then will translate the recommendations into new proposed public policy, such as changes to federal laws geared toward more affordable health care.

For more information about Health for Life, visit AHA's Web site here.

Click here for ASHP's policy on full health insurance coverage. To learn more about ASHP's 2015 Initiative, visit http://www.ashp.org/2015.

http://www.ashp.org