Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book describes a miscellany of approaches that the academic health centers (AHC) have begun to develop to ensure not only survival but, more important, a place in the health care sector from which they can continue to make significant contributions to the advancement of American medicine. The conference was further enriched by the presence as discussants of a number of current chief executive officers of AHCs in the East and Midwest who added accounts of their experiences and perceptions to the lively day-and-a-half dialogue among the group.