The profound effects of implementing health care reform, efforts to rein in the federal budget deficit, and judicial branch review of these activities cannot be overstated. Pharmacists, physicians, and other clinicians need to be aware of the regulations that Congress and the judicial branch are exploring. The outcome of these decisions will alter the way health care organizations are structured; how individual stakeholders are reimbursed; how the role of practitioners might change; and, ultimately, how patients are treated. Active budget dealings in Congress will have a trickle-down effect on federally funded programs as well as on state funding in general. This precarious economic and clinical balance faces the stresses of increased costs
