The Common Health Coalition: Together for Public Health has been jointly introduced by five healthcare organisations to enhance collaboration between US healthcare and public health systems.
The founding members of the coalition are AHIP, the Alliance of Community Health Plans, the American Hospital Association, the American Medical Association, and Kaiser Permanente.
It aims to leverage the lessons learned from the Covid-19 pandemic to develop actionable strategies.
This coalition plans to release recommendations in early 2024, guided by technical advisory groups and an advisory council comprising public health leaders.
The development of these recommendations is facilitated by ChangeLab Solutions, a national non-profit specialising in law and policy for health equity.
The initial focus will be on improving coordination between public health and healthcare systems, as well as establishing shared emergency preparedness plans.
Priority will also be on setting national standards for healthcare data to identify disparities and modernising infectious disease detection.
The Common Health Coalition is chaired by former NYC Commissioner of Health Dr Dave A Chokshi, and managed by Chelsea Cipriano, MPH.
Led by Drs Georges C Benjamin and J Nadine Gracia, the advisory council will inform the coalition's work.
The coalition stems from a joint agreement to public health, declared in March 2023.
Dr Chokshi said: “Now is the time to reimagine a health system in which health care and public health no longer work in parallel, but hand in hand, with health as the common goal and health equity as a common good.
“Throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, our healthcare and public health institutions collaborated in ways we'd never seen before.
“We must cement the best of their approaches, and other innovations, into our nation's core infrastructure.
“Leaders at Kaiser Permanente, AMA, AHA, ACHP, and AHIP are stepping up to make this vision a reality, and I'm honoured to serve with them as chair of the Common Health Coalition.”
