Toward optimal healing environments in health care.

The 2nd American Samueli Institute symposium was held January 22-25, 2004. The focus of this meeting was an exposition of optimal healing environments (OHE) in American health care. Fifty-five (55) invited guests participated; most had written one of the papers in this Supplement. The conduct of the meeting revolved around small group discussions and two plenary sessions. The ensuing dialogue refined and organized the definitions, components, and research protocols associated with creating and implementing an OHE. This Supplement contains both the invited papers and an abstract of the plenary session discussions.