The Jim Interview

Abstract

In early 1995, Lee Goldman, MD, left his post as chief medical officer at the Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston to become the chairman of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco. A well-respected clinical epidemiologist, Goldman has been among the leading proponents of utilizing critical pathways to improve the efficiency of clinical care. His appointment as leader of a department steeped in a strong tradition of basic research was widely seen as another marker in the ascendancy of the field of health services research. However, in just his first year, Goldman has been active in working to further solidify his department's strong basic research foundation as well as expand its research scope, all in what many consider to be the most difficult and volatile of managed care markets.

Interviewed on the wards of the UCSF medical center, Goldman reflected on the highly dynamic managed care environment of northern California, and the need to adapt medical training to the rules of a new era in health care.