Teaching Quality and Cost in the Tumultuous Era of Health-Care Reform

The passage of the 2010 Affordable Care Act has not ended bitter debates around the policies and practice patterns required to appropriately balance access, quality, and cost in the U.S. health-care system. While many physicians have asked simply "to be left alone" to continue practicing as they see fit, this is an increasingly untenable position, given the notably high costs and very mixed clinical outcomes in the United States relative to other developed nations. A new multi-author text on Medical Quality Management stresses physician involvement in health-care quality, safety, and efficiency and lays out key concepts to help readers better understand many of the national challenges and opportunities that lie ahead. This essay extends lessons from this book and the national debate on health-care reform and suggests promising areas for clinician engagement in the ongoing evolution of the U.S. health-care system.