Medicine in an Era of Health Care Reform

Life expectancy doubled in the past century, driving an unprecedented expansion in the health care sector to nearly 20% of the economy. Meanwhile, dramatic advances in molecular biology and telemedicine, combined with the introduction of electronic data systems and comparative effectiveness criteria, are transforming traditional medical practice into 'personalized medicine.' In this lecture, we examine the practical and ethical aspects of this new medical paradigm and how it relates to 'patient protection and affordable care,' the contrasting twin goals of ongoing health care reforms.

Speaker: Michael Thaler, M.D., Professor Emeritus, UCSF