title: A call to excellence.
abstract: Health care improvement affects us all and is not optional. For change to occur, consumers must demand excellence from their providers and clinicians. Patient safety is part of a broader set of health care quality issues. Championing this view will not be easy, for it means fundamental change to the myriad interrelated systems that make up U.S. health care. HHS is taking the lead on patient safety through a number of initiatives and activities.
authors.affiliation: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville, Maryland, USA.
authors.forename: Carolyn M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Clancy
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Scully
mesh_terms: D014487:Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, U.S.; D006302:Health Services Research; D006801:Humans; D019300:Medical Errors / Q000517:prevention & control*; D015969:National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine, U.S., Health and Medicine Division; D011785:Quality Assurance, Health Care / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D017751:Safety Management / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D012941:Social Responsibility; D014481:United States; D016270:United States Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality