The United States will spend $1.8 trillion--over 15 percent of GDP--on health care this year. Despite that enormous expenditure, doctors remain trapped in an inefficient system that too often impedes the flow of clinical information necessary for sound treatment decisions. Patients have little information about the quality of their care, health insurance costs have skyrocketed, and millions of people do not have health insurance.  Washington policymakers recognize these problems, but we are a long way from resolving them.

Dr. Denis Cortese, president and CEO of the Mayo Clinic, represents one of the household names in U.S. health care. He envisions a health care system geared to learning from both its mistakes and its successes, continually refining the way health care is practiced. Can health professionals lead this transformation, or will Washington continue to call the shots?