A bold new future for public health or implementing the "Alexander Haig" idea

An amalgam of effort by public health practitioners and academics is needed to attain the goal of public health taking charge of U.S. health care early in the new millenium. Numerous ideas for joint collaborations in service, research, and teaching are presented. Goals, quality improvement and reporting, customer satisfaction, and leadership training are developing strengths in the field that will help make rapid progress toward the goal. Oversight of health services by public health is essential to the development of a successful U.S. health system.