Communities' readiness to commit to high-quality health care.

Now that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act has become law, the question is whether the country is ready to implement its provisions, especially regarding quality. I believe that the answer is yes, at both the national and local levels. However, we must apply the lessons learned from previous health reform missteps to ensure the new law's success. Many Americans believe that the law's provisions concerning health care quality are not specific enough. However, this lack of specificity might provide the flexibility needed to successfully implement those provisions.