The American health care system is challenged on many fronts. Every day, there are reports of medical errors and patient safety concerns. The nation struggles to provide care for the 15% of the population without health insurance. Costs continue to grow two to three times faster than the cost of living. Consumers leave their costly and risky encounters with less and less satisfaction that they have received the value they feel they deserve and desire. The public health system, strained after years of providing care for a medically indigent population, now faces new challenges in man-made and natural disasters. These occurrences and potentials ranging from terrorist threats to hurricanes.
