WASHINGTON, DC, (Jan. 16, 2009) – Partnership for Prevention today outlined several steps President-elect Obama can take shortly after taking office to make disease prevention and health promotion a central priority in efforts to reform the nation’s health system.

“The bold actions outlined … will send a strong message that your Administration is committed to preventing disease and promoting health,” Partnership Chairman Jonathan E. Fielding, MD, MPH, PhD, MBA and Interim President Corinne G. Husten, MD, MPH, wrote in a letter to Obama. “We hope you will act on these recommendations soon, and we look forward to working with you as you seek to bring about fundamental reforms to our nation’s health system.”

“Partnership for Prevention has identified several actions you can take early in your presidency to send a strong message about your commitment to prevention while laying the groundwork for making prevention the leading edge of your health reform efforts,” they wrote.

Partnership’s recommendations are as follows:

• Direct federally sponsored health insurance programs to provide coverage for, and encourage use of, those clinical preventive services recommended by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force and the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices
• Direct federal agencies to ensure their buildings and installations are healthy worksites and to offer comprehensive worksite health promotion programs
• Order the Secretary of HHS to mobilize the work of the various federal agencies responsible for programs key to achieving the nation’s Healthy People goals and objectives
• Create an inter-departmental National Obesity Council to develop a comprehensive and coordinated national strategy for combating the obesity epidemic, and
• Submit the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control to the Senate for ratification

“Overhauling our health system will require Congressional cooperation, but you will have the authority to take prompt administrative actions to make the nation healthier and, in these pressing economic times, improve the value we get from the programs we steward,” wrote Fielding and Husten.

More details on the recommendation are contained in the letter, which is viewable online here.