Applying futuristic technology to the priorities of the past

The hot topic in health care executive suites across the nation is outcomes management: measuring the effects of interventions on the quality of life of patients. The halls of our institutions are buzzing about the shifting focus from the board room to the bedside, and from the balance sheet to the patient's chart. Is outcomes management just another fad that will result in an additional layer of space-age overhead with little relevance to our patients' goals? Aren't we already concerned enough about our patients? What happened to the old saw, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it?"