McGlynn EA, Asch SM, Adams J, et al. The quality of health care delivered to adults in the United States. New England Journal of Medicine. 2003;348(26):2635-2645.

In the largest, most comprehensive health care quality study ever conducted in the United States, RAND Health shows that Americans with common health problems receive only about 50 percent of  "recommended care." This landmark study emphasizes that there are still major gaps between what we know works and the care patients actually receive, posing "serious threats" to public health.

Rivers EP, Ander DS, Powell D. Central venous oxygen saturation monitoring in the critically ill patient. Critical Care. 2001;7(3):204-211.

This article discusses that even if the variables providers would normally monitor in critically ill patients - blood pressure, heart rate, urine output, and central venous pressure - are normal, global tissue hypoxia may persist.

Bennet D. Early resuscitation in the Emergency Room: Dramatic effects that we should not ignore. Critical Care. 2002;6:7-8.

This article discusses what effects providers should be looking for to help prevent death.

Berwick D, Winickoff D. The truth about doctors' handwriting: A prospective study. British Medical Journal (BMJ). 1996;313:1657-1658

An oft-cited 1996 study showing that, despite the popular myth, doctor's handwriting is no worse than other professionals. To improve, health care needs better systems, not doctor's who write more carefully.

Berwick D. Medical associations: Guilds or leaders? British Medical Journal (BMJ). 1997;314:1564.

An editorial calling on physicians to play a leading role in health care improvement.

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Smith R, Hiatt H, Berwick D. Shared ethical principles for everybody in health care: A working draft from the Tavistock Group. British Medical Journal (BMJ). 1999;318:248-251

Richard Smith, Howard Hiatt, and Donald Berwick chaired a multidisciplinary task force to create this working model for a shared code of ethical principles that span all health care professions.

McManus ML, Long MC, Cooper A, Mandell J, Berwick DM, Pagano M, Litvak E. Variability in surgical caseload and access to intensive care services. Anesthesiology. 2003;98(6):1491-1496.

In health care, demand is often highly variable and access may be limited when peaks cannot be accommodated in a downsized care delivery system. When uncontrolled, variability limits access to care and impairs overall responsiveness to emergencies.

Institute of Medicine
Washington, DC, USA: National Academies Press; 2003

The Institute of Medicine’s latest report focuses on furthering the agenda set forth in the 2001 Institute of Medicine's report, Crossing the Quality Chasm, by defining a set of priorities for the nation to begin overhauling the current health care delivery system.

The National Coalition on Health Care and The Insitute for Healthcare Improvement. Promises to keep: Changing the way we provide care at the end of life. Accelerating Change Today (A.C.T.). October 2000.

Profiles of institutions and organizations that have demonstrated excellence in end-of-life care.

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Lemieux J, Kendall DB, Tremain K, Levine SR. An "ABC" proposal to modernize Medicare. Progressive Policy Institute Policy Report. February 2003.

This report focused on Medicare reform advocates an innovation-driven system in which performance is rewarded.

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