The U.S. spends more on health care than any other country in the world. In 2008, the U.S. spent $2.3 trillion on health care—that's about $7,681 per person—a number that is expected to double by 2020. Yet the U.S. does not rank among the top countries for the quality of care provided to patients. The U.S. has the highest rate of preventable deaths, the highest rate of infant mortality, and the lowest average healthy life expectancy when compared to many other industrialized nations. Furthermore:

• 15 million incidents of medical harm occur in U.S. hospitals every year (Source: Institute for Healthcare Improvement)



• Only 60 percent of patients with chronic conditions receive the care they need (Source: RAND Corporation)



• As many as 98,000 deaths a year in the U.S. are the result of preventable medical errors (Source: Institute of Medicine)

In its landmark 2001 report, Crossing the Quality Chasm, the Institute of Medicine said it best, concluding that "health care harms too frequently and routinely fails to deliver its potential benefits ... Between the health care we have and the care we could have lies not just a gap, but a chasm."