The physician's role in health care spending.

Physicians must weigh their obligation to provide their patients with the best care possible against their obligation to be good stewards of health care resources. Given the rising cost of health care in the United States and Minnesota, striking the right balance has become more of a challenge. This article describes national and state health care spending trends. It also describes the State of Minnesota's Provider Peer Grouping program and the health plans' total cost of care analyses, two initiatives that are being used to evaluate the cost of care delivered by various provider groups and highlight areas for improvement.