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Call for Papers

Phil B. Fontanarosa, MD, MBA; Catherine D. DeAngelis, MD, MPH; Drummond Rennie, MD

JAMA. 2008;299(5):576.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

A 232-year-old "patient"¹ has been experiencing acute and chronic systemic health problems. Despite the concerted efforts of dedicated and superb physicians, the availability of state-of-the-art medical treatments and technological advances, and trillions of dollars in annual health care expenditures,² major aspects of the health, well-being, and prognosis for this complex "patient"—ie, the United States and its health care system—are, at best, less than optimal.

For example, the United States ranks below several other industrialized nations in terms of several key health care indicators, such as life expectancy, infant mortality, and rates of obesity.³ Despite the world's highest per capita health expenditures, the numbers of uninsured and underinsured continue to increase and are at an all-time high.⁴ Health care costs continue to escalate, threatening the long-term viability of government-based insurance systems such as Medicare and Medicaid and of . . . [Full Text of this Article]

Author Affiliations: Dr Fontanarosa (phil.fontanarosa@jama-archives.org) is Executive Deputy Editor, Dr DeAngelis is Editor in Chief, and Dr Rennie is Deputy Editor, JAMA.