In Search of US Pharmaceutical Policy Innovation

Artificial intelligence (AI) tools in health care and public health can bring efficiency and new approaches that might improve health. These tools may also have implications for health equity. Kevin Johnson, MD, MS, of the University of Pennsylvania joins JAMA Health Forum Editor in Chief Sandro Galea, MD, DrPH, to discuss the opportunities and challenges of AI in health care and public health. Related Content: Keeping Health Equity at the Forefront of the Artificial Intelligence Revolution in Medicine and Health

How do we better deploy market-based solutions to improve health care in the US? Lanhee Chen, PhD, of Stanford University joins JAMA Health Forum Editor in Chief Sandro Galea, MD, DrPH, to discuss how market-based approaches can complement public strategies to create a health care system that is more adaptive, responsive, and fiscally sustainable. Related Content: A Role for Market Forces in US Health Care—Principles and Guardrails

Pharmaceuticals are a central—and costly—element of the US health care system. Aaron S. Kesselheim, MD, JD, MPH, of Brigham and Women's Hospital joins JAMA Health Forum Editor in Chief Sandro Galea, MD, DrPH, to discuss the challenge and opportunity of delivering affordable drugs to as many people as possible. Related Content: In Search of Pharmaceutical Policy Innovation in the US

Historically, there has been less focus on primary care than on specialist care in US health care. What are the challenges and opportunities in primary care today? What might it look like in the coming decades? Robert Phillips, MD, MSPH, of The American Board of Family Medicine joins JAMA Health Forum Editor in Chief Sandro Galea, MD, DrPH, to discuss the future of primary care in the US. Related Content: Back to the Future of Primary Care

There is abundant evidence that sexual minority groups have worse health indicators than sexual majority groups. Gilbert Gonzales, PhD, MHA, of Vanderbilt University Medical Center joins JAMA Health Forum Editor in Chief Sandro Galea, MD, DrPH, to discuss the current policy landscape and its potential impact on the health of LGBTQ+ populations. Related Content: Health Implications of Recent Policy Changes Affecting LGBTQ+ Populations

Both sex- and gender-based factors influence the health of women. A fully realized population health agenda needs to center women's health as an area of conceptual and pragmatic focus. Rosa M Gonzalez-Guarda, PhD, MPH, RN, joins JAMA Health Forum Editor in Chief Sandro Galea, MD, DrPH, to discuss women's health, inequities, and how women's many and different identities shape their health. Related Content: The Consequences of Selective Defunding of Health-Relevant Research Areas

About 1 in 5 adults in the US live with a mental health condition. In 2023, approximately 32% of US adults reported symptoms of depression and anxiety. Ruth Shim, MD, MPH, of the University of California, Davis, joins JAMA Health Forum Editor in Chief Sandro Galea, MD, DrPH, to discuss how national policy can better support mental health in the US. Related Content: Toward a Strategy to Improve National Mental Health

The second Trump administration launched several actions in 2025 that directly affect the health of populations. Sara Bleich, PhD, of Harvard Chan School of Public Health joins JAMA Health Forum Editor in Chief Sandro Galea, MD, DrPH, to discuss the nonhealth policies that may matter most to health and warrant ever-more attention, particularly in a moment of policy turbulence. Related Content: The Health Consequences of Nonhealth Policies in a Time of Policy Disruption

The evolution of artificial intelligence technology has outstripped most health policy oversight in the US. Michelle M. Mello, JD, PhD, Professor of Law and Professor of Health Policy at Stanford University, discusses this and more with JAMA Health Forum Editor in Chief Sandro Galea, MD, DrPH. Related Content: Inaction on Artificial Intelligence Regulation in a Time of Upheaval

The US is an outlier in health system performance, spending more than other peer countries while performing worse. US economist David Cutler, who is the Otto Eckstein Professor of Applied Economics at Harvard University, discusses this and more with JAMA Health Forum Editor in Chief Sandro Galea, MD, DrPH. Related Content: On Making US Health Care Great and Affordable