Health care in the United States has experienced an explosion in biomedical knowledge, dramatic innovations in therapies and surgical procedures, and expanded capacity to manage conditions that previously were debilitating or fatal—and ever more exciting H clinical capabilities are on the horizon. Yet, paradoxically, health care is falling short on basic dimensions of quality, outcomes, cost, and equity. Actions that could improve the health care system’s performance—developing knowledge, organizing and translating new information into medical evidence, applying the new evidence to patient care—are marred by significant shortcomings and inefficiencies that result in missed opportunities, waste, and harm to patients according to a recent opinion piece posted at www.issues.org.
