Date: 12/01/1998

Author(s): Ed O'Neil, The Pew Health Professions Commission

 

This fourth and final major report of the Pew Health Professions Commission comes at the end of the most dynamic decade ever faced by the nation’s health professionals. As disruptive as this period has been, however, it may only have been the prelude. The health care system in the US will continue to change. This report examines the forces and trends which are shaping US health care in the 21st century and provides recommendations and insights to succeed in this new world. The professions and their leadership must learn to balance individual needs with system and population constraints. The regulatory system for health professional practice must be reinvented to ensure the highest level of practice from professionals. In some instances this will mean learning new skills and practicing in new ways. It may also mean giving up some of what has been valued in the past. Finally, it means aligning the size of the professions to meet public purposes.