Vital Directions For Health And Health Care: Priorities For 2025.

Abstract

In 2016, ahead of the US presidential election, the National Academy of Medicine launched the strategic initiative Vital Directions for Health and Health Care-a series of papers on critical areas of US health care written by the nation's experts and intended to provide nonpartisan guidance to the incoming administration. The National Academy of Medicine continued the initiative in 2021. The current series, titled Vital Directions for Health and Health Care: Priorities for 2025, contains six articles on priority areas in US health and medicine that demand urgent attention. Here we provide an overview of the articles, which spotlight key areas for action and transformative change: revitalizing the biomedical research enterprise, modernizing public health, charting new directions for women's health, safely integrating artificial intelligence throughout the health care system, addressing the impact of climate change on health and equity, and transforming the US health care system to one that performs at par with the systems of other industrialized nations. Common themes include coordinating a strategic vision, correcting adverse economic incentives, investing in the health care workforce, reducing fragmentation, and emphasizing equity. Each article offers actionable priorities for the new administration to improve health outcomes for all Americans.