During this holiday time of year, it can sometimes seem as if our storefronts and shopping malls are bursting at the seams. Parking lots are packed, lines are long, and inventories run short. However, the retail industry somehow makes it through the season. It's a decent analogy for our health care delivery system. While there is a tremendous amount of need on a daily basis for health care services, our physicians, pharmacists, nurses, nurse practitioners and other medical professionals work together to address that need. However, imagine if Christmas shoppers were expected to double in number next year. That demand would require new stores to be constructed, new shelves to be stocked, and new salespeople to be hired and trained. Similarly, the health care system is gearing up for full implementation of President Barack Obama's Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which in just a year's time will extend health benefits to the estimated 50 million uninsured people in the United States.
