HealthPartners Chief Health Officer Appointed to Federal Drug Safety Task Force
Posted on: Friday, 5 August 2005, 12:12 CDT
BLOOMINGTON, Minn., Aug. 5 /PRNewswire/ -- George Isham, M.D., chief health officer of HealthPartners, has been appointed to the Institute of Medicine's committee on drug safety. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration formed the IOM Committee on the Assessment of the U.S. Drug Safety System in response to growing public concern over health risks posed by drugs already approved by the FDA.
"Recent recalls of well known prescription and over-the-counter drugs highlight the need to review our drug safety infrastructure," said Isham. "It's an honor to participate in this important work that will help improve the health and safety of all Americans."
The charge of the IOM Committee is to: -- Ensure drug safety is part of the U.S. health care delivery system. -- Provide ongoing drug safety evaluation for the FDA, the pharmaceutical industry, the medical community and public health authorities. -- Make recommendations for enhancement of tools employed by FDA to identify and manage drug safety problems. -- Evaluate FDA's internal organizational structure and operations around drug safety. -- Consider FDA's legal authorities for identifying and responding to drug safety issues. -- Identify strengths, weaknesses and limitations of the current system. -- Recommend ways to improve risk assessment, surveillance and the safe use of drugs. The committee will issue a final report in July 2006.
Isham is a founding board member of the Institute for Clinical Systems Improvement, a past member of the board of directors of the American's Health Insurance Plans and he is currently on the board of directors of the Alliance of Community Health Plans. He is past co-chair and current member of the National Committee for Quality Assurance's (NCQA) Committee on Performance Measurement which oversees the Health Plan quality measurement standards.
Isham has served on the Center for Disease Control's (CDC) Task Force on Community Preventive Services and on the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality's (AHRQ) Advisory Board for the National Guideline Clearinghouse. He serves on the Institute of Medicine's Board on Population Health and Public Health Services. Isham chaired the Institute of Medicine's committee that authored the report Priority Areas for National Action, Transforming Health Care Quality. Epidemic of Care, published in April 2003, with co-author George Halvorson, is Dr. Isham's examination of the impending health care crisis with suggestions on ways to solve it. In 2003, Isham was appointed as a lifetime National Associate of the National Academies of Science in recognition of his contributions to the work of the Institute of Medicine.
About HealthPartners
HealthPartners is the largest consumer governed non-profit health care organization in the nation and is committed to improving the health of its members, patients and the community. Founded in 1957, HealthPartners ( http://www.healthpartners.com/ ) provides care and coverage to 635,000 members across Minnesota through a broad network of physicians and hospitals, including HealthPartners Clinics. HealthPartners commercial and Medicare Advantage plans have received the highest rating of "Excellent" from the National Committee for Quality Assurance. Physicians and employees in 52 locations are dedicated to providing the best care -- patient centered care that includes disease management and prevention, innovative inpatient and outpatient services, hospice, pharmacy, health improvement, research and medical education.
HealthPartners
CONTACT: Chris Iles of HealthPartners, +1-952-883-5301, Cell phone+1-612-247-9119, Christopher.B.Iles@HealthPartners.com
Web site: http://www.healthpartners.com/
Source: PRNewswire
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