Abstract
The Institute of Medicine was founded in 1970 under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences to address the concerns of medicine and healthcare. Many members of the Institute and at least two of its former presidents are also members of the Association. For those unfamiliar with the Institute's history and purpose, I will provide a brief overview. The National Academy of Sciences was chartered in 1863 by President Lincoln and the U.S. Congress, to advise the government on scientific issues and technology. As the scope of its activities broadened, the Academy established the National Research Council to provide an operating entity and staff for the many issues studied by members of the Academy and other volunteers. The closely related National Academy of Engineering was created in the 1960's and it also utilized the staff and facilities of the National Research Council. During the 1960's there was increasing need and concern for the establishment of an entity closely affiliated with the National Academy of Sciences that could provide advice, counsel, and studies on difficult issues in medicine and in the social, economic, and political aspects of healthcare. The Institute of Medicine evolved from these deliberations and, like the National Academy of Sciences, is an independent, non-governmental, nonprofit organization with a mandate to provide the government and others with advice, counsel, and independent research on major topics in healthcare.
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