Health Research Reaps Benefits

Startling news about the number of hospital-based errors leading to preventable deaths splashed across the news a year and a half ago. The National Institute of Medicine (IOM) reported that up to 98 thousand people die each year in the U.S. as the result of preventable hospital-based medical errors.

How did the Institute of Medicine learn about the magnitude of this problem and how will hospitals and other providers devise effective solutions? The answer is through careful medical research, using very large data bases, so that patterns can be found that are valid for very large populations. Using anonymous data, researchers study claims, or hospital records to uncover patterns and find areas for improvement such as:

Improved safety
New and enhanced health management programs
New benefits
Reduced medical costs

The GIC's enhanced mental health parity benefit - expanding mental health coverage across all plans to equal other medical benefits -- is a prime example of some of the benefits of research. Our plans' Coronary Artery Disease and UniCare's diabetes management programs also came about as the result of research. These initiatives have improved enrollees' quality of life, and assisted with increasing longevity.

The bottom line - legitimate medical research, that protects individual's privacy, is paramount to everyone's health.