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Healthcare is an ever‐growing segment of the American economy. Transparency facilitates better decision‐making and better outcomes measures. The purpose of this paper is to present the human and economic results of increasing transparency.

The ASIMP Working Group on Healthcare Transparency represents a diverse yet conscilient group of practitioners, researchers, regulators, economists, and academics. Given the need for re‐envisioning healthcare to include more accountability, evidence of efficacy and transparency, this integrative medicine (ASIMP) working group is suitable to address the above purpose.

Substantial opportunity exists to reduce morbidity and mortality, suffering and excess death, unnecessary costs and risks. Greater transparency facilitates the transition to safer, more effective, more humane healthcare.

This paper starts from a need to improve clinical outcomes and value for resources devoted. Best efforts of a national working group are presented. The implications of the report, when tested, will determine the enduring value of this work.

Consumers and business, administrators and practitioners can improve care at lower cost by increasing transparency. This will accelerate the diffusion of effective approaches that are not yet in widespread use despite replication of efficacy.

This is the first time an integrative approach has been compared with conventional healthcare models, particularly with regard to the role of transparency in healthcare management.

Healthcare is both the largest (17 + percent) and the most rapidly growing (three plus times the consumer product index (measure of inflation) and half a percent of gross domestic product each year) segment of the US economy. The purpose of this paper is to focus on outcome successes that illustrate application of a previously reported health equation. The health equation allows an organized and more transparent assessment of healthcare outcomes.

The approach includes “end use/least cost” techniques that identifies healthful care as a big unmet need (BUN) and equally attractive business opportunity in identifying health promotion that improves outcome at lower net costs.

Opportunity exists to reduce costs while also reducing adverse events, healthcare morbidity and morality. Transparency is essential to find what works more effectively to yield desired outcomes. Metrics and measures, particularly more precise tools to assess true outcome in promoting health or managing ill health, are given priority as they allow quantified and, often econometric, outcome opportunities in the midst of current uncertainties.

This paper is for consumers and businesses, managers and administrators, professionals and allied health professionals. The successes described herein illustrate fundamental opportunities driving change and innovation within healthcare and in our society.

Attention is called to opportunity areas that can fund out of savings the transition from the authors' current “sickness care” system to a healthful care, proactive prevention approach to delivering care. Novel application of transparency and end use/least cost can help guide choices to achieve healthier outcomes.

This article aims to present an equation of health to allow measurement and more precise comparison of what is more or less effective in promoting health or managing ill health. It builds upon and extends a prior report (JMD, Volume 25 Number 10, 2006, pp. 981‐995).

Applying basic scientific methods and empiric observations, the equation proposed in this article is a state of the current science. Such an equation allows for more systematic and predictive comparison of health initiatives.

The pace of scientific progress is outstripping our institutional adaptive response mechanisms. An approach to the causes of ill health appears more promising than re‐configuration of current disease reactive, symptom treatment care. This paper starts from first principles and builds a model that results in an equation of health.

Refinement of the model and replication by others are needed to fully determine the predictive value of this approach.

The opportunity to reduce costs while also reducing adverse events, healthcare morbidity and morality.

This article calls attention to areas of opportunity to fund out of savings the transition from our current “sick care” system to a health promotion/proactive prevention approach to caring.