Becoming an information master - Using "medical poetry" to remove the inequities in health care delivery

In response to the spiraling costs, the US populace, for now, has chosen to ration health care by choosing who can receive it rather than what service s are provided. Changing this approach will require an organized national p olicy and will be difficult. Clinicians must accept that providing minimall y beneficial but not absolutely necessary care to their patients increases cost without significantly improving quality, and results in more people wh o lack adequate health care. The public must accept that exclusively focusi ng health care decisions on individuals places patients in conflict with th eir community, their family, and, eventually, themselves. Effectively using valid Patient-Oriented Evidence that Matters (POEMs) will give family phys icians the tools necessary to improve the value of health care services. Fa mily physicians are in the unique position to guide the necessary changes i n health care delivery to resolve these conflicts and to be leaders in this process.