Reducing Waste in US Health Care Systems.

The article discusses waste in the U.S. health care delivery system, which is described as unsafe, ineffective, inefficient, inequitable, untimely, and not patient-centered. The Dept. of Veterans Affairs' reforms in the 1990s are cited as exemplary at the macrosystem level. Other positive initiatives cited are the Leapfrog Group's agenda to reduce preventable medical errors and the Institute for Healthcare Improvement's 5 Million Lives Campaign, which is engaging U.S. hospitals to improve patient care and prevent avoidable deaths.