Value-based leadership. A prescription for reforming the American health care system

Many reforms have been suggested for health care in the last 30 years yet they are mainly treating symptoms rather than getting at the root cause of the problems. The underlying problem is a lack of vision for the health care system. There is no comprehensive, uniform vision of American medicine rooted in the needs of our society. This vision should be based on the values that significantly challenge physicians: patient satisfaction, patient empowerment, cost effectiveness and the appropriate use of resources, patent access, and continuous quality improvement based on appropriate data techniques.