The American health care system--the movement for improved quality in health care.

Abstract

A vibrant movement to improve the quality of health care has sprung up in the United States. Report cards on health plans, hospitals, medical groups, and even individual physicians have appeared on the front pages of newspapers, on television, and on the Internet. Projects to solve problems of quality within health care institutions dot the health care landscape. A small but determined cadre of physician leaders has developed a science of health care quality and is working to transform that science into a national movement. Two main strategic threads intertwine to create the present and future agenda of the movement . . .