devise effective ways to link data from environmental monitoring and behavioral surveys needed to interpret the significance of genetic variation in both the clinical and the public health setting. Moreover, we must devise appropriate ways to interpret and communicate about such information in ways that patients and caregivers can understand. Health Services Research A series of reports during the past decade from the IOM have documented medical errors causing preventable deaths, the chasm between the present overall quality of care and what we should provide, and the opportunities for leadership in the federal agencies and in other sectors to enhance quality of care and safety of patients.12'14 Comparative effectiveness and cost-effectiveness research is needed not only on individual treatments and technologies, but also on patterns of care and ways to motivate healthier patient behaviors across diverse population groups. The professional community should he committed to a healthcare system characterized by these six attributes: safe, effective, patient-centered, timely, efficient, and equitable.13 Enhancing Science and Health Literacy All of us have much to gain from a more scientifically literate and proactive general public. Those of us in the research community want people to understand what we do and what we seek to accomplish scientifically and medically. We must be willing to listen, for communication is a two-way process. In the mid-1990s, I chaired a Presidential/ Congressional Commission on Risk Assessment and Risk Management, with oversight of the full array of federal environmental, health, and safety regulatory agencies. One of the key accomplishments of our Commission
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