Professionalism, Governance, and Self-regulation of Medicine

A revolution in medicine is occurring and is directly related to several major factors, including substantial changes in the health care system, largely due to the Affordable Care Act; remarkable scientific advances and an accelerated pace of discovery in biomedical science 1 ; increasing recognition of the need to practice restraint with respect to both diagnostic testing and therapeutic interventions; the promise of personalized medicine; more physicians being employed by large medical organizations; the increasing trend of consolidation and corporatization of health care delivery; and heightened public demands and expectations for transparency and accountability in health care. 2 At the same time, fundamental aspects affecting physician education and certification have come under intense scrutiny, with expansion of the number of medical schools, critical examination of government funding for residency training, and recent contentious debates regarding maintenance of board certification. 3 Considering these fundamental, dynamic, and rapid